CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards meeting the revised Public Service Agreement target for internet connections in public libraries.

Kim Howells: The proportion of public libraries in the UK with public internet access reached 67 per cent. in August 2001, on course for meeting the target of 100 per cent. access by the end of 2002.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on performance against the target to improve her Department's procurement practices.

Kim Howells: The Department has increased its use of ICT in procurement and has undertaken Gateway Reviews of procurement projects where required.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the funding for digitisation which has so far been awarded;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on progress towards the target to develop and introduce the Library element of the New Opportunities Fund Lottery funding stream for literacy learning.

Kim Howells: All public library authorities have submitted plans to the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) Community Access to Lifelong Learning programme for ICT infrastructure and for staff training. All libraries will have completed network installation by the end of December 2002. Training for 40,000 public library staff is under way. Fifty-four awards have been made under the NOF Digitisation programme totalling £45 million. Projects will be completed by December 2004 with first materials available by December 2002.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the performance target is for the Public Service Agreement target of facilitating and promoting competitiveness in the creative industries.

Kim Howells: The Department tracks a range of indicators of the economic performance of the creative industries, baselines for which were established in the creative industries Mapping Document published by DCMS. The Department's 2001–04 Service Delivery Agreement includes a target comparing the productivity of the creative industries with the all-industry average.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the progress towards the target for the payment of undisputed invoices.

Kim Howells: The outturn for the 2000–01 financial year was 99 per cent. of undisputed invoices paid within 30 days.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on performance against the target for the reduction of sickness absence in 2001;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to meet the Department's target for reduced sickness absence by 2003.

Kim Howells: The figure for the first 11 months of 2001 is 7.3 days sickness absence per staff year. The Department will continue to monitor trends and address any particular areas of concern. The Department has recently introduced a revised sick absence policy and will support managers to manage attendance and ensure that the policy is implemented. We will also continue to offer health awareness and health care information to staff.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote the competitiveness of UK broadcast-related industries and the early take-up of digital broadcast services.

Kim Howells: Results of enhanced Government/ industry co-operation include a better statistical base, improved overseas promotion, a stronger trade association and increased opportunities in new media.
	The Government published a draft Digital Television Action Plan on 12 October 2001, setting out a series of actions to be undertaken by Government and industry to achieve switchover from analogue to digital television. Further to this Action Plan, on 11 December, the Government published a consultation paper on planning the digital television spectrum. Nearly eight million UK households (about 30 per cent. of the total) have switched on to digital television since 1998.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for what reason the Public Service Agreement target for Lottery distributing bodies to develop strategic plans does not apply to the Millennium Commission.

Kim Howells: The target does not apply because by April 1999 the Commission had already committed almost all of its funds.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to maintain standards and diversity of broadcasting output and ensure that content is socially inclusive to secure wide access to broadcast material.

Kim Howells: The Broadcasting (Subtitling) Order 2001, which increases the target for subtitling on digital terrestrial television to 80 per cent., came into force on 4 July 2001. The targets will be extended to digital cable and digital satellite services as part of the forthcoming Communications Bill. A conference in October 2001 of the Cultural Diversity Network reported on the progress made by the signatory broadcasters in the first year of operation.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to develop proposals for a future regulatory system for broadcasting which recognises market and technological developments.

Kim Howells: The Office of Communications Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 12 July 2001. The Bill allows for the establishment of the Office of Communications (OFCOM) which will prepare itself to take on the duties proposed to be conferred upon it later as the new single regulator for the media and communications sector. A draft Communications Bill, containing the Government's proposals for the regulatory framework which OFCOM will apply, is to be published in this Session of Parliament.

Libraries

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries there were per head of population for each year since 1979.

Kim Howells: The answer is as follows:
	
		Population per library in England (total population divided by the number of public libraries open 10 hours plus per week, including mobiles)
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 1999–2000 14,211 
			 1998–99 14,125 
			 1997–98 13,953 
			 1996–97 13,742 
			 1995–96 13,550 
			 1994–95 13,425 
			 1993–94 13,369 
			 1992–93 13,290 
			 1991–92 13,170 
			 1990–91 13,069 
			 1989–90 11,461 
			 1988–89 13,915 
			 1987–88 13,545 
			 1986–87 13,781 
			 1985–86 13,189 
			 1984–85 13,317 
			 1983–84 13,004 
			 1982–83 13,006 
			 1981–82 13,054 
			 1980–81 12,986 
			 1979–80 12,725 
		
	
	The figures exclude special services offered by library authorities to members of the public, for example, homes and hospitals. Across England these services have increased from 9,806 in 1979–80 to 14,617 in 1999–2000.

Millennium Commission

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many projects have been given grants by the Millennium Commission; what proportion of the projects have been completed on time; how many Millennium Commission projects are yet to be completed; if she will list those projects which are (a) more than 12 months behind schedule and (b) which have been aborted, along with their value; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how much has been spent by the Millennium Commission; what amount the Commission has allocated but is yet to distribute; what amount is available and unallocated to projects; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  when she expects the Millennium Bridge to re-open; what the total cost of this project has been; what the cost of repair work carried out on the bridge has been; who is responsible for the extra cost; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what proportion of total Millennium Commission expenditure has been spent in the Greater London area; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I will write to the hon. Member in my capacity as Chair of the Commission, and place copies of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Television Licences

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether residential homes have to purchase television licences for televisions that are watched by residents over the age of 75 years and other people.

Kim Howells: Residents aged 75 or over living in residential homes are entitled to a free television licence to cover the installation or use of television in their private accommodation. Such licences do not extend to cover television sets in the communal parts of a residential home, which require a separate, full fee licence. However, we have received representations on this subject and our policy is currently under review.

Television Licences

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people benefit from the £5 concessionary television licence scheme; and, in the last year for which figures are available, how many people stopped being entitled to a reduced fee licence because the (a) social mix and (b) level of warden cover at their accommodation changed.

Kim Howells: At the end of October 2001, there were a total of 633,000 units of accommodation covered by the Accommodation for Residential Care concessionary television licence scheme, of which 200,000 were occupied by residents under 75, who pay a £5 fee, and 433,000 by residents aged 75 or over, who pay no fee. An accurate breakdown of the number of people who have ceased to be entitled to the concession because of changes to the social mix or the level of warden cover is not currently available, but we have contacted the BBC to request the information required and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available, placing copies of my letter in the Library.

Tourism

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the cost of implementing the English Tourism Council's "Sea Changes" document;
	(2)  what funding the English Tourism Council has allocated to implementation of its "Sea Changes" document;
	(3)  what progress has been made in establishing a Government unit to co-ordinate the case for resorts within Government;
	(4)  if she will list her Department's priorities for action on the implementation of the English Tourism Council's "Sea Changes" document.

Kim Howells: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The Government have welcomed the publication of "Sea Changes" and we are working with the English Tourism Council (ETC) to take it forward. The ETC is consulting closely with the British Resorts Association and relevant local authority tourism officers.
	The ETC does not have a specific budget for implementing the report since its role is to inform and help develop the strategies of public agencies and the private sector, predominantly at local and regional level. The Government have not set out specific priorities for action in relation to the report and have not made any assessment of the potential cost of implementation. We are awaiting a preparatory assessment from the ETC and will then be in a better position to consider how best an impact can be made.
	We do not propose to establish a separate unit to co-ordinate the case for resorts within Government. This is already the responsibility of my Department and we have raised the profile of resort regeneration in discussions both at national level at the March 2001 inter-Ministerial Tourism Summit, shortly after "Sea Changes" was published, and in ministerial meetings with Regional Development Agency (RDA) chairmen since then. We have also ensured that the new draft corporate planning guidance for RDAs asks them to work with regional and local partners on sustainable tourism strategies which should include the promotion of coastal resort regeneration.

Golden Jubilee

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what arrangements have been put in place for public holidays relating to the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Richard Caborn: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 23 November 2000, Official Report, column 294W, Tuesday 4 June 2002 will be a bank holiday in place of the Spring Bank Holiday, which would otherwise fall on 27 May. Monday 3 June will be an additional Bank Holiday for the Golden Jubilee.

Sports Clubs (Charitable Status)

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many community and amateur sports clubs will benefit from the revised Charity Commission guidelines on charitable status.

Richard Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington), on 13 December 2001, Official Report, column 1029W.

Museums (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the museums in the Buckingham constituency that have received funding from her Department allocated to cutting museum entry fees; and the amount awarded in each case.

Kim Howells: No museums in the Buckingham constituency have received funding from my Department allocated to cutting museum entry fees. None is sponsored by my Department.

Museums (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the museums based in the Buckingham constituency which have received funding from the Designated Museums Challenge Fund indicating (a) the nature of the project, (b) the date of the award and (c) the amount of funding provided in each case.

Kim Howells: There are no designated museums within the Buckingham constituency.

Arts Bodies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of staff turnover at (a) regional arts boards and (b) the Arts Council of England since the proposals outlined in 'Working Together for the Arts' were made; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Staff turnover at the Arts Council of England in the period 1 April 2000–31 March 2001 was 28.4 per cent. In the first quarter of 2001–02, turnover reduced to 25 per cent. and reduced again in the second quarter to 20.5 per cent. Policies have been prepared to maximise staff retention, and these have been taken to the local union/management groups for ratification and workplace-based application.
	The Regional Arts Boards are autonomous organisations, which report to their own boards about the turnover of staff.

Arts Bodies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what has been the funding for the Arts Council of England in each year since 1995; what proportion of that funding in each of those years has been spent on salaries; what the Arts Council of England has spent in each year since 1995 on salaries; what the average salary of an Arts Council of England employee has been in each year since 1995; what the average salary of an employee of a regional arts board has been in each year since 1995; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The following information has been supplied by the Arts Council of England, in answer to the question:
	
		Arts Council -- £000
		
			   Funding in each year since 1995 (grant-in-aid and lottery combined)  
			  1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 GIA and Lottery funding 435,327 426,013 454,788 400,904 416,271 420,584 
			 Proportion spent on salaries (percentage) 0.8 1.0 1.3 1.6 1.3 1.6 
			 How much spent on salaries 3,481 4,351 6,020 6,457 5,603 6,615 
			 Average salary of ACE employee 21 21 22 23 28 33 
		
	
	
		Regional Arts Boards
		
			  Average salary in year Percentage of total expenditure spent on salaries 
		
		
			 1995–96   
			 East England 19,402 13 
			 East Midland 15,606 14 
			 London 22,794 7 
			 Northern 17,856 9 
			 North West 21,111 7 
			 Southern 18,985 15 
			 South East 18,583 16 
			 South West 16,731 11 
			 West Midlands 18,699 11 
			 Yorkshire 17,368 10 
			
			 1996–97   
			 East England 18,085 11 
			 East Midland 15,898 13 
			 London 23,270 6 
			 Northern 19,585 8 
			 North West 15,308 8 
			 Southern 17,998 12 
			 South East 20,388 14 
			 South West 17,489 12 
			 West Midlands 18,757 10 
			 Yorkshire 17,689 9 
			
			 1997–98   
			 East England 18,828 13 
			 East Midland 16,599 14 
			 London 22,332 7 
			 Northern 18,774 9 
			 North West 18,003 7 
			 Southern 20,990 15 
			 South East 19,509 16 
			 South West 17,586 11 
			 West Midlands 18,479 11 
			 Yorkshire 19,095 10 
			
			 1998–99   
			 East England 21,194 15 
			 East Midland 16,670 14 
			 London 23,463 7 
			 Northern 19,272 9 
			 North West 19,334 9 
			 Southern 21,021 14 
			 South East 20,802 17 
			 South West 17,803 11 
			 West Midlands 18,458 11 
			 Yorkshire 18,779 10 
			
			 1999–2000   
			 East England 21,542 14 
			 East Midland 17,042 14 
			 London 25,625 7 
			 Northern 20,560 8 
			 North West 18,963 8 
			 Southern 20,461 13 
			 South East 21,531 20 
			 South West 17,968 12 
			 West Midlands 19,371 11 
			 Yorkshire 20,372 10 
			
			 2000–01   
			 East England 22,629 12 
			 East Midland 19,367 12 
			 London 24,181 5 
			 Northern 21,363 6 
			 North West 19,888 5 
			 Southern 24,046 9 
			 South East 22,530 15 
			 South West 19,730 10 
			 West Midlands 21,054 7 
			 Yorkshire 21,951 8

Arts Bodies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Arts Council of England has distributed to each of the regional arts boards in each year since 1995.

Kim Howells: The Arts Council of England has been supplied the following information, which includes grant-in-aid and lottery funding combined:
	
		Summary of RAB audited accounts -- Total funding from ACE£
		
			 All RABs 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 East England 5,011,053 5,109,835 5,248,710 5,322,280 6,152,450 9,718,024 
			 East Midlands 4,480,158 4,443,540 4,502,900 4,938,120 6,454,107 9,682,517 
			 London 14,157,380 13,762,832 13,789,202 14,603,194 16,284,439 32,014,120 
			 Northern 6,209,766 6,353,287 6,212,970 6,353,287 7,399,758 11,714,473 
			 North West 8,099,977 8,028,610 8,441,000 8,515,529 9,766,313 18,039,684 
			 Southern 3,598,450 3,839,771 3,918,786 4,267,846 5,159,652 11,192,305 
			 South East 2,907,688 2,931,214 3,109,264 3,319,040 4,216,479 6,999,710 
			 South West 4,577,422 4,516,883 4,972,630 5,084,757 6,027,128 9,133,900 
			 West Midlands 5,955,357 5,853,052 6,169,350 6,388,082 7,545,188 13,598,401 
			 Yorkshire 7,173,613 6,988,962 7,316,013 7,296,347 8,513,200 12,458,582 
		
	
	Note:
	These are total figures, both GIA and Lottery combined.

Royal Armouries (International)

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for how long the PFI contract her Department holds with Royal Armouries (International) for the management of Leeds Royal Armouries exhibition runs; what the total cost of the project has been to her Department; what funding was required to rescue the project; what estimate she has made of the future costs of the project to her Department; what estimates she has made of the value of RAI's new contract; under what terms the nature of the initial contract was changed; and what assessment she has made of the performance of RAI.

Kim Howells: Under their current 57 year contract with the Armouries, Royal Armouries (International) plc (RAI) are responsible solely for providing catering, corporate entertainment and car parking. The responsibility for managing the museum and its retail outlets was transferred to the Royal Armouries in 1999.
	The total cost of the project to build the Royal Armouries museum at Leeds was £43 million. Over £14 million of the construction cost was met by RAI. The Government contributed £20 million via the Royal Armouries, and Leeds city council and Leeds Development Corporation together provided £8.5 million.
	As part of the renegotiation of the original PFI-type deal, RAI's outstanding debt of £21 million was borne by the private sector. To cover the additional responsibilities assumed by the Royal Armouries my Department has provided additional grant of £1 million a year since 1999. The future cost to my Department is £1 million a year in additional grant. My Department has not provided any funding to RAI.
	The value of RAI's new contract is a matter for RAI. Under the new arrangements agreed in July 1999 RAI retains responsibility for the repayment of its debt of £21 million. RAI also retains responsibility for the provision of corporate entertainment and catering services for a period of 40 years and car parking for a period of 57 years, together with the income from those functions. The Royal Armouries took over responsibility for all other operations and retail outlets. The Armouries stands to receive 20 per cent. of RAI's turnover from corporate entertainment and catering activities once RAI has paid off its debt plus 20 per cent. of its car park income after 40 years.
	The current agreement between RAI and the Royal Armouries sets out the standards of performance required. This is a matter between RAI and the Royal Armouries.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Tanzania

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her priorities are for development projects in Tanzania.

Hilary Benn: Our Tanzania Programme supports the implementation of the Government of Tanzania's Poverty Reduction Strategy, in line with the Millennium Development Goals. Priority sectors identified in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper are health (including HIV), education, rural water, rural roads, agriculture, and the judicial and legal systems.
	The Department for International Development assistance to Tanzania is now provided through a single medium term budget support instrument (about £40 million a year), with a complementary programme of technical co-operation (circa £30 million a year). This is designed to increase Government capacity to improve economic management and deliver public services, support private sector development and pro poor growth, and to help the Government improve their accountability to civil society.

Tanzania

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what priority her Department accords to a military air traffic control system for Tanzania in plans for that country's development.

Hilary Benn: Development priorities for Tanzania are set out in the Government of Tanzania's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper which my Department is supporting, along with other donors.

Iran

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Afghan refugees have been deported from Iran.

Hilary Benn: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has received periodic reports of the deportation of small groups of Afghans over the past few months but does not have precise figures. It also estimates that over 140,000 Afghans returned home voluntarily from Iran during 2001, one-third of them since Herat city fell on 12 November 2001.
	We continue to do all we can to ensure that Afghan refugees are properly cared for and give neighbouring countries the necessary support to cope with the burden of refugees, for whom they have generously provided for so long.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations she has made to all sides in the conflict in Sudan to establish a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian access to those living in the Nuba mountains.

Hilary Benn: We regularly press for independent humanitarian access to the Nuba mountains, both directly and through the British ambassador and his staff in Khartoum. At present there is a ceasefire in place in the area and humanitarian access has improved as a result.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is visiting Sudan from 6 January and will discuss the Nuba mountains situation during her meetings with the representatives of both sides.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of humanitarian access in areas of Sudan, with particular reference to the southern Blue Nile; and what steps she is taking to encourage all parties in the conflict to agree to long-term and unimpeded humanitarian access to Sudan.

Hilary Benn: We regularly press the Government of Sudan and the rebel forces to remove obstacles to independent humanitarian access to all areas including the southern Blue Nile. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is visiting Sudan from 6 January and will raise the issue of humanitarian access with the leaders of both warring sides.

Afghanistan

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what help the Government are giving to sustain supplies and services to Afghanistan over the winter.

Hilary Benn: We have so far allocated £60 million for the provision of financial, technical and in-kind support for humanitarian and recovery assistance in Afghanistan. Almost £40 million of this UK support has been provided to United Nations agencies, the Red Cross movement and NGOs, including support for the provision and stockpiling of assistance for the winter.
	With our help, the UN, under the leadership of the World Food Programme, is maximising food delivery through both road and air routes and is prioritising deliveries to areas where access may become more difficult over the continuing winter, including the Central Highlands, the Panjshir valley and the north-east of the country. It has deployed specialist equipment and personnel to keep routes to these areas open as long as possible.

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to include the states surrounding Afghanistan in the reconstruction plan for that country.

Clare Short: Both the recovery and reconstruction strategies will be informed by a regional approach, as the support of neighbouring countries will be crucial for long-term stability. Neighbouring countries have been invited to attend the Afghanistan Reconstruction Steering Group meeting, which is taking place in Brussels this week.

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to prevent the export of heroin from Afghanistan to surrounding areas.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	With strong British support it was agreed at the Bonn Conference (27 November to 5 December) that the Interim Administration would co-operate with the international community in the fight against drugs. The UK will play a significant part in reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. We think that this should include the promotion of economic and law enforcement policies in Afghanistan which encourage and support opium poppy farmers in pursuing other livelihoods.
	We are providing assistance to Afghanistan's neighbours such as Iran, Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics to help them prevent drugs from being trafficked from Afghanistan. In financial year 2001–02 we are providing over £2 million worth of equipment to assist the local law enforcement agencies in these countries to detect drugs and drug traffickers.

Central Asia

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations she has made to the EU regarding development assistance to (a) the Kyrgyz Republic, (b) Tajikistan and (c) Uzbekistan.

Clare Short: I have discussed future EC assistance to Central Asia with Chris Patten, Commissioner for External Relations. My officials have also discussed this on a number of occasions with Commission staff. I am very pleased that EU development assistance to the region, which includes the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is to double.

Central Asia

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has made to the British Council to open an office in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Clare Short: I have not made representations to the British Council. I understand, however, that if a bid for funds is successful, the Council plan to open an office in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2004–05.

Hearing Aids

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has (a) received and (b) made to (i) the EU and (ii) the WTO regarding the provision of hearing aids to the deaf and hearing impaired in developing countries.

Clare Short: My Department has received two representations, neither of which has been from the EU or the WTO, on the provision of hearing aids during 2001. I have not made any representations on this subject, as they are not part of my Department's priorities for health, which are in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

DEFENCE

Procurement

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on major procurement plans relating to land-based projects.

Lewis Moonie: We are investing in a number of new systems which will ensure that the Army's capability is maintained at the highest level. Plans for future equipment include the WAH-64 attack helicopter; improvements to the range and accuracy of our artillery weapons; a fully integrated fighting system for the infantry; a new range of armoured fighting vehicles; and new armoured engineering vehicles. We are also planning to procure a number of systems to improve logistics and combat support.
	In addition, we have taken decisive action to rectify two long-standing equipment problems by undertaking a successful modification programme for the SA80 rifle and by placing a contract for the Bowman radio.
	Our service personnel have excellent equipment that is the envy of most other armed forces. We are continually looking to modernise this equipment to ensure that our soldiers are fully able to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the question tabled by the hon. Member for Lewes on 23 October relating to the cost at that point of Operation Enduring Freedom, Ref. 8769, has not yet been answered; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: I wrote to the hon. Member on 19 December 2001.

Far East Prisoners of War

Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost to date of the ex-gratia scheme for ex-prisoners of the Japanese; and what would have been the additional cost of allowing the applications of those barred following the clarification of the definition of British earlier this year.

Lewis Moonie: The ex-gratia scheme to make payments to those held prisoner by the Japanese during the Second World War is administered by the War Pensions Agency. As at 21 December 2001 there had been 22,794 payments made at a total cost of £229,940,000. At the same date, there had been a total of 4,019 applications rejected, of which 1,097 were on grounds of nationality. Assuming that the 1,097 rejected applicants met all other criteria for the ex-gratia payment, the additional payment cost would be £10,970,000.

Territorial Army (Medals)

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will announce that service in Category C of the Territorial Army is reckonable service for the efficiency decoration and the efficiency medal as recommended by the Joint Service Review of Honours and Awards.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence, in conjunction with other Departments, is currently considering this recommendation of the Joint Services Review of Honours and Awards.

Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department is taking to prevent the spread of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever to special forces personnel operating in Afghanistan.

Geoff Hoon: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever is a tick-borne virus; most patients are animal husbandry workers and it is uncommon in the winter months. The overall risk of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever to UK troops is perceived as low. However, recommendations have been made to protect UK personnel from tick bites including the wearing of appropriate clothing, the treatment of clothing and the use of repellents.

Afghanistan

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost has been to the UK of (a) the military and (b) the humanitarian campaign in Afghanistan.

Geoff Hoon: £100 million has been made available by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to cover new equipment and immediate Operational requirements needed for operations in Afghanistan and the campaign against international terrorism. Up to 31 October 2001, the net additional costs of Operation Veritas were £14.5 million. The Department for International Development (DfID), which is responsible for the humanitarian campaign, has set aside £60 million of which almost £40 million has already been allocated to UN agencies, the Red Cross movement and NGOs to support their response to the current crisis, both in Afghanistan and in the region. As well as financial assistance, DfID is also providing technical, personnel, logistical, material and other practical support.

MOD and Military Police (Retirement)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel have retired from (a) the Military police and (b) the MOD police in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The number of personnel who have retired from the Military police and the Ministry of Defence police by financial year is as follows:
	
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 Naval Service 16 20 22 33 20 
			 Army 59 47 38 25 24 
			 RAF 109 77 93 76 72 
			 MOD police 38 41 28 24 27 
			  
			 Total 222 185 181 158 143 
		
	
	"Retirements" have been defined as personnel leaving at the end of an agreed period of service.

Porton Down

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many films are held by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down of its biological warfare trial known as Operation Cauldron; and if he will place a list of the titles and dates of the films on this trial in the Library.

Lewis Moonie: During the late 1940s and early 1950s the Ministry of Supply undertook a series of major sea trials of the dissemination of biological warfare agents. It is believed that films, each consisting of several reels, were taken of the individual trials, including Operation Cauldron, which was conducted in 1952. Porton Down holds a videotape, entitled "Operation Cauldron—1952", which contains approximately 20–30 minutes of footage extracted from that shot during the trial. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 May 2001, Official Report, column 197W, in which I explained that the titles of the 1,200 films in the archive at Dstl Porton Down have not been catalogued and in many cases are not very informative. It would involve disproportionate cost to collate a list of films. Therefore we cannot say if reels of film containing footage of Operation Cauldron are held in the archive at Dstl Portdon Down. Films held in the archive are gradually being transferred to the Imperial War Museum where they are being reviewed and catalogued. This is being undertaken in accordance with MOD policy.

Porton Down

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a list of the common and chemical names of the incapacitants which have been tested on service volunteers at the chemical defence establishment, Porton Down, during the Service Volunteer Programme; and how many service volunteers were tested with each of these incapacitants.

Lewis Moonie: Agents known to have been used at Porton Down during the Service Volunteer Programme, and which are generally considered to be incapacitants include those listed.
	Sensory irritants:
	CS (orthochlorobenzylidine malononitrile) and its ortho-bromo ortho-nitro, ortho-hydroxy, ortho-cyano, meta-hydroxy, di-chloro and di-ethyoxy derivatives;
	CN or CAP (chloroacetophenone) and its ortho-nitro, meta-fluoro, and 2-hydroxy-5-methyl derivatives;
	Benzyl bromide derivatives including para-bromo, para-nitro, para-cyano, ortho-cyano and bromo-cyano; para-nitro and para- bromo benzyl iodides;
	BBC (bromobenzlcyanide);
	ethyl bromoacetate;
	ortho-xylene dibromide and derivatives;
	bromo-p-toluamide;
	CR (dibenzoxazepine);
	methoxycycloheptatriene;
	fumaronitrile;
	ammonia;
	ethyl alcohol;
	tri-n-propyl lead beta chloropropionate;
	DA (diphenylchloroarsine);
	DM (diphenylamine chloroarsine) and a range of chloroarsine derivatives;
	Capsaicin.
	Centrally acting agents such as:
	LSD (D-lyseric acid diethylamide);
	BZ (3-quinclidinyl benzoate) and a range of other glycollates;
	oripavine and its derivatives;
	a range of morphine derivatives and Pyrexal.
	However, definitions of what constitutes an incapacitant vary and there are many agents used in the Service Volunteer Programme on which information is not readily available. Precise numbers of volunteers exposed to the various agents are not known. Collation of such data would involve extensive detailed searches of all the Porton Down record books. It is hoped that this information will become available as a result of the proposed research into the health of Porton Down Volunteers.

Local Overseas Allowance

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if local overseas allowance is payable to air crews on exercise Saif Sareea and Operation Veritas; what the weekly value is of the (a) welfare package offered to air crews during Saif Sareea and (b) local overseas allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: No Local Overseas Allowance (LOA) was payable to personnel, including aircrew, for Exercise Saif Sareea II, nor is it payable for those deployed on Operation Veritas. In both cases deployed personnel have been eligible for the Operational Welfare Package (OWP).
	LOA is not part of the military salary or a reward for overseas service. It is a cost of living addition paid only in circumstances where personnel are likely to incur greater day-to-day expenditure overseas than they would in the UK. This is not generally the case for those deployed on operations or major exercises in remote locations.
	A comprehensive OWP was made available to deployed personnel engaged in Exercise Saif Sareea II. I refer the hon. Member to the answer which my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces gave on 19 March 2001, Official Report, column 12, to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, South-East (Dr. Iddon) which covered the welfare arrangements for exercises lasting for two months or more. The package provided a personal allowance of 20 minutes of publicly funded telephone calls per week; free forces aerogrammes and concessionary parcel rates; access to the internet and e-mail; newspapers and book packs; BFBS TV and Radio; televisions, video recorders and video tapes; Expeditionary Forces Institute shops; publicly funded laundry, fitness equipment and a Combined Services Entertainment show. Similar facilities are being made available to those deployed on Operation Veritas.
	The cost of providing the OWP to Exercise Saif Sareea II is estimated to be £8.5 million, but it is not possible to quantify the value to an individual where there is no comparable local market for the services provided. If LOA had been judged appropriate for those exercising in Oman, examples rates are £67.97 per week for an RAF Corporal and £80.71 per week for a Squadron Leader.

Expenditure

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent to date, including research and development and manufacturing costs, on the (a) Type 45 and the PAAMS system, (b) CVF, (c) Astute class SSN and (d) Merlin ASW helicopter.

Lewis Moonie: The information is as follows.
	
		Expenditure on research and development and manufacturing costs (VAT inclusive) as at 31 March 2001
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Type 45 and PAAMS (1)491 
			 CVF 18 
			 ASTUTE Class SSN 490 
			 Merlin ASW helicopter 3,507 
		
	
	(1) This figure includes Type 45 warship development plus the UK element of research and development costs on the Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS), the Horizon Programme and WR21 gas turbine development.
	Costs are not recorded by the Ministry of Defence under headings of "Research and Development" and "Manufacturing". They are divided into five project phases: Concept, Assessment, Design and Manufacture, In-Service and Disposal, with Assessment being the closest to R&D.

Forces Mail

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if letters and parcels from services personnel on active service overseas are carried free of postage; if letters and parcels for families to service personnel at BFPO addresses are carried free of postage; if he will call for a report about postal services offered free of charge to US services personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The Review of Operational Welfare, the results of which my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces announced on 29 March 2001, Official Report, columns 731–32W, concluded that the best method of maintaining communication between personnel deployed on operations and their families is to provide a comprehensive package across a range of media which is common to all operational theatres. Consequently, the new arrangements we introduced in April provide a full package—free 'blueys' (forces aerogrammes), free 'e-blueys', other mail and parcels at forces concessionary rates (which are considerably lower than normal rates), publicly funded telephone calls (20 minutes per week) and internet access. We have provided some £60 million of additional resources over a four year period to support these enhancements. As part of the review we did examine the US model of welfare support to deployed forces—as well as canvassing the views of several hundred British service personnel on operations.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, 'Winning the Generation Game', (a) what progress his Department has made and (b) what future plans his Department has for acting on them; and if he will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 19 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 335W, by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office.

Cruise Missiles

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of maintaining and servicing the cruise missile arsenal has been in each year since 1983.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 11 December 2001
	The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) system which entered service in 1998 is the first, and currently only, cruise missile in service with UK armed forces. Delivery of the missiles commenced in 1997 and the cost of maintaining and servicing the arsenal in each of the financial years since then is as follows:
	
		£ million 
		
			 Year  
		
		
			 1997–98 0.100 
			 1998–99 0.120 
			 1999–2000 0.140 
			 2000–01 0.160 
			 2001–02 (2)0.180 
		
	
	(2) Estimated

Cruise Missiles

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the total cost of a cruise missile over the lifetime of its use.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 11 December 2001
	The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) system is currently the only cruise missile in-service with UK armed forces. The estimated total cost of a TLAM missile over its in-service life is £1.4 million.

Anti-ship Capability

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the Merlin helicopter will be fitted with the Sea Shire missile; what other anti-ship capability it will have; and what anti-ship capability (a) Type 23 frigates and (b) Type 45 destroyers will have.

Lewis Moonie: I assume the hon. Member refers to the Sea Skua missile, currently fitted to the Royal Navy's Lynx helicopter. There are no plans to fit the Sea Skua to the Merlin helicopter. The helicopter has a state of the art, integrated mission system, and an extensive array of on-board sensors. These not only give Merlin an independent capability to search for, locate and attack submarine targets, but can also be used to detect ships and provide targeting information for attack by other units.
	The Type 23 frigate's anti-ship capability is provided by the Harpoon anti-ship missile, the Sea Skua missile fitted to its Lynx helicopter, the 4.5" Mk8 gun, and twin 30mm guns. It is planned that the Type 45 destroyer's anti-ship capability will be provided by the Sea Skua missile, fitted to its Lynx helicopter, together with the ship's medium range gunnery system, the 4.5" Mk8 Mod 1 gun and twin 30mm guns. The Type 45 is being designed to facilitate the incremental incorporation of additional capabilities, and as such allows for the fitting of a surface to surface guided missile, should the requirement for one be demonstrated.

Astute

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the research and development costs are of the Astute class; and what the estimated cost of construction is for each Astute class submarine.

Lewis Moonie: The cost of research and development of the Assessment Phase of Astute Class was £29 million. Subsequently the prime contract was placed in March 1997 for the design, build and initial support of three submarines. Unfortunately it is not possible to separate out the development costs in this phase, or the construction cost per boat, from the other costs in the overall price. This is because the contract is placed for a total price, with no itemisation against the categories of the hon. Member's request.

HMS Ambush

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Ambush's keel will be laid.

Lewis Moonie: HMS Ambush is currently expected to be laid down during the second half of 2002.

Base Dispositions

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies the NAO has made of the (a) closure, (b) partial sale and (c) move of military bases since 1997.

Lewis Moonie: On 17 June 1998, the National Audit Office published a report entitled "Identifying and Selling surplus Property" (HC 776), which considered (in Section 5), a number of individual property disposals of former Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites during the financial years 1995–96 and 1996–97, including that of the HM Naval Base, Rosyth. In addition, the National Audit Office in their report on "Training New Pilots" (HC 880 published on 14 September 2000) referred to the MOD's decision to concentrate flying training at fewer locations resulting in the closure and disposal of surplus sites, although the report did not directly consider the disposals themselves.

Casualty Ships

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to place an order for primary casualty receiving ships; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: We are continuing to define the requirement for a new primary Casualty Receiving Capability, to enhance afloat medical support. A range of different procurement options are under consideration, ranging from modules embarked as and when required on existing host vessels, to an integrally fitted vessel. An initial study contract for Assessment Phase work was placed on 21 December.

HMS Triumph

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made of the danger the (a) HMS Triumph and (b) crew of HMS Triumph were in as a result of the incident which led to the court martialling of Lieutenant Ian Tabberer and Lieutenant Ashley Philpott; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The damage to HMS Triumph was minor. She surfaced normally and proceeded to the nearest Naval Base without difficulty. Neither the ship's company nor HMS Triumph were at any risk as a result of the grounding.

HMS Triumph

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what opportunities for service are left in the Royal Navy for Lieutenant Ian Tabberer and Lieutenant Ashley Philpott; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Depending on the findings and sentence of the court-martial it is perfectly possible to continue a career in the Royal Navy. Any sentence would be taken into account, along with any other relevant factors, when considering aspects such as future appointments.

HMS Triumph

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the incident involving HMS Triumph which took place on 19 November 2000 and on the nature, time scale and cost of repair work required.

Adam Ingram: On Sunday, 19 November 2000, HMS Triumph made glancing contact with soft sand and shells on a shelving seabed when under way submerged. An immediate inspection was undertaken following which the boat proceeded on the surface to Faslane, as programmed. The superficial damage identified was repaired in January 2001 during a period of planned maintenance, at a cost of approximately £6,000.

HMS Triumph

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action will be taken in regard to the Commanding Officer of HMS Triumph in relation to the events leading to the court martialling of Lieutenant Ashley Philpott and Lieutenant Ian Tabberer; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Naval Prosecuting Authority, which is independent of the Chain of Command, considered all of the evidence of the Board of Inquiry following the grounding and specified, after careful consideration, those officers that were found to have committed offences that should be dealt with by way of court martial.

Royal Ordnance Factories

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give guarantees on the security of supply of ammunition in the United Kingdom from Royal Ordnance factories.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence entered an innovative partnering agreement with Royal Ordnance Defence (ROD) in December 1999 to ensure security of supply of ammunition and related services while at the same time achieving best value for the taxpayers' money. We remain confident that ROD will continue to be a major supplier of munitions to the Ministry of Defence.

Eurofighter

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what bids were submitted to provide maintenance and support services for the EJ200 engines for the Royal Air Force Eurofighters; what was the cost of these bids; what timescale was given; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The prime contract for initial maintenance and support of Royal Air Force EJ200 engines was awarded to Rolls-Royce in November 2001 following a non-competitive tender. The initial contract is valued at approximately £12 million and will run until December 2003. Long-term support will be the subject of a subsequent contract employing a number of 'Smart Acquisition' principles such as partnering and incentivisation to maximise through life value for money.

Cannabis

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings he has had with Army officials about the implications for the armed forces of cannabis being reclassified as a class C drug.

Adam Ingram: The misuse of drugs (whether Class A, B or C) is incompatible with service in the armed forces. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has discussed this subject generally with officials, including the Chief of the General Staff. He will, of course, consider the implications of any recommendation on cannabis reclassification that may be made in due course by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

Tanks

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK tanks are based in each country (a) inside and (b) outside the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 19 December 2001
	Of the 355 UK Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks currently in service, 107 are in England, 216 are in Germany and 32 are in Batus.

Recruitment

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) costs and (b) benefits are of recruiting soldiers from (i) Fiji and (ii) the British Isles.

Adam Ingram: The Army accepts applications from Commonwealth citizens, including those from Fiji, but does not actively recruit from these countries. However, in response to the large number of applications received from Fiji, the Army sent a selection team to that country in late 1999 at a cost of some £97,000. These costs are not directly comparable with those for recruiting in the UK. The total budget for the UK recruiting operation in 1999–2000 was some £56.5 million.
	We believe that the addition of the Fijians to its strength increases the diversity of the force, provides a positive image to other Fijians and other potential applicants from the Commonwealth, and further demonstrates that the Army is an equal opportunities employer. The selection visit to Fiji had the advantage of reducing nugatory costs to the individuals ensuring that all aspirants had the opportunity to apply.

Operation Enduring Freedom

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what had been the cost on 31 December 2001 of Operation Enduring Freedom; and how much of the total cost has been met from pre-set departmental budgets.

Geoff Hoon: This information is not yet available. I will write to the hon. Member in due course. A copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Defence Procurement

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much outstanding offset there was for (a) the USA, (b) Germany and (c) France in each of the last 10 years.

Geoff Hoon: The current amount of outstanding offset (referred to in the UK as Industrial Participation) for the USA, Germany and France is, respectively: £2 billion, £137 million, and £314 million. German and French industries have had Industrial Participation obligations to UK Ministry of Defence only since 1996. Information relating to previous years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

QinetiQ

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid by his Department to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers and UBS Warburg, (b) Simmonds & Simmonds, (c) Arthur Andersen and (d) Willis in connection with the proposed flotation of QinetiQ in each of the last two years.

Lewis Moonie: Payments to advisers in connection with the QinetiQ transaction are made under the terms of the relevant commercial contracts with these companies. I am withholding details of payments in accordance with Exemption 14 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

QinetiQ

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much 
	(1)  QinetiQ has spent on advice with respect to its flotation in each of the last two years;
	(2)  his Department has spent on advice on the flotation of QinetiQ in each of the last two years.

Lewis Moonie: The total cost of advice the Ministry of Defence received in respect of QinetiQ was some £1.4 million in 2000 and £3.6 million in 2001. The total cost of advice received by QinetiQ was some £1.5 million in 2000 and £6.2 million in 2001. These figures cover the cost of advice on all aspects of the DERA PPP, as it is not possible to separate out that spent on advice relating specifically to the transaction. These costs have been scrutinised to ensure that the services of advisers offer value for money.

Defence Aviation Repair Agency

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual cost was of inter-site travel by personnel of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency in (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01.

Adam Ingram: The travelling expenses details for personnel travelling between the sites of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency are not recorded separately and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Government Defence Logistics

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed in Government defence logistics work in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Telford.

Adam Ingram: As at 19 December 2001, the number of people employed in the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) in the United Kingdom is 31,829. The number of people employed in the DLO in the Telford area is 2,544.

Cluster Bombs

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 4 December 2001, Official Report, column 223W, on cluster bombs, if he will include unexploded ordnance clearance in the package of measures he supports aimed at minimising the risk to civilians; if he will support measures to restrict the targeting of cluster bombs so as to protect civilians; and if he will consult Landmine Action before finalising his policy towards discussions on a new protocol addressing explosive remnants of war.

Adam Ingram: It is entirely appropriate that cluster bombs should be included in international discussions in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons aimed at minimising the hazard to civilians from explosive remnants of war. International law already exists to restrict the targeting of cluster bombs and other munitions so as to protect civilians, in the form of Article 51 of the First Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions, to which the United Kingdom is a State Party. The Ministry of Defence will consult widely in developing policy towards discussions on a new protocol addressing explosive remnants of war.

Naval Vessels

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what means of inspection and deduction were used to determine the safety case for HMS Sovereign, HMS Superb, HMS Sceptre, HMS Spartan, HMS Splendid, HMS Trafalgar, HMS Turbulent, HMS Tireless, HMS Torbay, HMS Trenchant, HMS Talent and HMS Triumph.

Adam Ingram: The Reactor Plant Safety Justifications for Royal Navy submarines aims to demonstrate, through detailed calculation and reasoned argument, that the risks of operation are acceptable and as low as reasonably practicable. The large suite of documentation that forms the safety case is structured around a detailed and comprehensive set of Safety Principles and Safety Criteria. These prescribe the aspects to be considered and include such items as: the basis of design; use of proven engineering practice and technology; system integrity; maintenance and testing; reliability; inspection and results; human and equipment failures; and operation in conditions where a fault has occurred. A range of different tests and inspections are used to certify key components of the reactor plant.

RAF Cottesmore (Joint Harrier Force)

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the percentage serviceability is of the joint Harrier force based at RAF Cottesmore.

Adam Ingram: On 18 December 2001, 73 per cent. of the Harriers used in the three front line squadrons, including those for training at RAC Cottesmore, were fully serviceable, 6 per cent. were undergoing minor scheduled servicing and the remaining 21 per cent. were unserviceable with faults that could be resolved within the squadrons' own capability. All those aircraft not fully serviceable could have been made so within three days, if required.

Brigade Reorganisation

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many extra deployable troops will result from his reorganisation of (a) 52 (Lowland) Brigade and (b) Headquarters 2 (South East) Brigade.

Adam Ingram: The two light infantry brigade headquarters (52 Lowland) Brigade and 2 (South East) Brigade) are being re-roled from regional brigade headquarters to provide better command and control arrangements for the light infantry role battalions, all of which are currently deployable. Thus the reorganisation of the two brigades will not result in an increase in the number of deployable troops. The change will bring greater coherence to the way that these units prepare for operations, through improved co-ordination of training.

Deployment

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce British forces in (a) Germany and (b) Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Strategic Defence Review made it clear that the forward basing of ground forces in Germany would remain a key aspect of British defence policy. In order to create a better balance between 1 (UK) Armoured Division stationed in Germany and 3 (UK) Division based in the United Kingdom we decided to withdraw around 2,500 troops from Germany. Phase one of the withdrawal was completed at the end of 1999. The remaining elements will take some years to complete.
	There are no immediate plans for troop reductions in Northern Ireland. The force levels within Northern Ireland are kept under constant review and are dependent on the Police Service of Northern Ireland's threat assessment and used for support. The Army's counter-terrorist and public order role in the Province will remain for as long as the police require military support to maintain law and order.

Garrison Radio Stations

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to support garrison radio stations.

Adam Ingram: On 1 July 2001, a two-year pilot project was initiated to provide Army radio broadcasting in Aldershot, Bulford/Tidworth, Catterick and Colchester. By 7 January 2002, all four garrison stations will be broadcasting full time and are funded to remain on air until 1 July 2003. The radio stations will be broadcast predominantly on AM with some trial broadcasts being made in FM in accordance with radio authority regulations.
	Garrison Radio Ltd., the contracted radio service provider, is offering a comprehensive local communication and welfare radio service at the four locations. Gurkha language services are also broadcast in appropriate garrisons.
	In addition to broadcasting around the clock, a variety of news and features packages concentrating on local garrison items are compiled on a daily and weekly basis and made available as an audio download package on the internet. All these news and features packages are accessible through the Army website at www.army.mod.uk.

A400M

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on when the Government will sign the contract for the A400M.

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with partner countries on the announcement of the signing of the contract for the A400M.

Geoff Hoon: On 18 December 2001, I signed an inter-Governmental memorandum of Understanding to allow the A400M contract to be placed. The contract itself was signed on the same day by the Organisation for Joint Armaments Co-operation (OCCAR), on behalf of the partner nations, and by the contractor Airbus Military. It provides for the development and manufacture of 196 aircraft in a single launch order. The UK's share is 25 aircraft. OCCAR will manage the programme to standards agreed by the partner nations.
	The A400M contract will enter into force once final Bundestag approval has been given to the German commitment. The agreement of other nations, including the UK, is subject to the German signature becoming effective. If this has not happened by the end of January 2002, these authorisations will lapse, providing a further opportunity to review the position.
	I am content that the programme now agreed with Airbus Military satisfies the conditions that I set out in my announcement to the House on 16 May 2000 for our participation in the A400M programme. Specifically:
	Programme commitments now total 196, well above the notional level of viability of 180 aircraft.
	The price negotiated with Airbus Military is affordable and represents value for money.
	Achievement of contract signature on 18 December is consistent with the UK's In-Service Date. This is planned to be 2010.
	The commercial terms and conditions of the contract are acceptable.

Depleted Uranium

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armour piercing and hard target penetrating warheads containing depleted uranium have been tested in (a) Scotland and (b) Dumfries and Galloway in each of the last 10 years.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 26 November 2001, pursuant to the reply, 5 December 2001, c. 342
	With reference to the number of depleted uranium projectiles fired in Scotland in each of the last 10 years, it has been brought to our attention that there is a typographical error against the figure quoted for 1994. The correct figure should read 455 and not 4,555. All other information contained within my reply of this date is correct.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were employed in her Department in each of the last four years.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 256W.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 15 November regarding fireworks.

Melanie Johnson: I replied to my hon. Friend on 19 December 2001.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the target on routine procurement of goods to be conducted electronically was achieved.

Andrew Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Barbara Follett) on 20 July 2001, Official Report, column 597W.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the public service agreement target on the overall international ranking of the science and engineering company base in terms of quality, relevance and cost-efficiency.

Patricia Hewitt: The most recent measurements of the international ranking of the Science and Engineering Base (SEB) in terms of quality, relevance and cost-effectiveness indicate that, the UK continues to maintain its position relative to other G7 nations. The details are as follows:
	The quality of the science and engineering base is measured by the UK's world ranking in terms of citations of published papers. Over the period 1981–2000 the UK received a 9.1 per cent. share of the citations in the international Science Citation Index, second only to the US. The UK was second in 'citation shares' for 15 out of 20 scientific fields with the lowest placing being fifth.
	One measure of relevance is the UK's world ranking in terms of the proportion of university research funding from non-governmental sources. For the latest year for which data are available (1997), the UK was again ranked first among the G7 countries.
	Cost-effectiveness is measured by the UK's world ranking in terms of the number of papers published per £1 million of public expenditure on science. In 1990, 1993, 1996 and 1999, the UK was the leading country in the G7. For the latest year (2000) the UK was again ranked first.
	These measures were put in place at the time of the Comprehensive Spending Review and were continued for the period of the 2000 Spending Review (2001–02 to 2003–04).
	While the public service agreement targets described here provide a valuable indication of the strength of the UK science base relative to our competitors, other indications are also available. The results of the latest Research Assessment Exercise were published on 14 December and show that, since 1996 when the last study was carried out, many university research groups have significantly improved their performance.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Armed Theft (Belfast)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of responsibility for the armed theft of electrical goods from a warehouse near Belfast on 21 November;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of responsibility for the armed robbery of cigarettes at Belfast docks in June.

Jane Kennedy: The police believe that the robberies involved well-organised criminal gangs with association to republican paramilitary groups.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress with the PSA target to limit the number of prison escapes.

Jane Kennedy: There have been no escapes from any Northern Ireland Prison Establishment during the period 1 April 2001–27 December 2001.
	There have been three escapes involving medium/low risk prisoners during this period from external hospitals. To reduce the likelihood of further escapes the following action has been taken:
	Trained prison staff are deployed to outside hospitals when it is necessary to produce prisoners for medical treatment. These staff are now given more detailed briefings.
	The procedures relating to the escorting of prisoners at outside hospitals have been reviewed and the operating instructions to officers have been revised.
	In consultation with the Commissioner for Nursing and Heads of Nursing in relevant hospitals we are carrying out a review to ensure that the maximum use of medical facilities in prisons is made and that hospital escorts are restricted to essential cases only.
	Prison security managers and hospital staff are reviewing the physical security of wards used for accommodating prisoners.
	The Key Target for high/top risk prisoners as set out in the Northern Ireland Prison Service Corporate and Business Plan is 100 per cent. security and this target is currently being met.
	The Key Target for medium/low risk prisoners is 99.7 per cent. security and the current rate is 99.6 per cent. security, therefore the target is not currently being met.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress with the Public Service Agreement target to increase overall confidence in the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: The Public Service Agreement target requires that an annual survey measure the level of confidence of both main parts of the community in the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. The Community Attitudes Survey, which is conducted independently of the Northern Ireland Office, will provide baseline figures during this year for both sections of the community's level of confidence in the Northern Ireland criminal justice system.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress with the PSA target to reduce the rate of increase of overall crime.

Jane Kennedy: Baselines to monitor the target of a reduction in the rate of increase in overall crime are currently being established. Recorded crime figures for the current year, 2001–02, will be included in the calculation of the baseline to monitor this target. This baseline will be the average annual increase in crime from 1997–98 to 2001–02.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress with the Public Service Agreement target to secure ongoing efficiency savings in core departmental administration costs for each year of the planning period.

Jane Kennedy: The Northern Ireland Office's SR2000 PSA target 8 is:
	"To secure ongoing efficiency savings of 3 per cent. in core departmental administration costs for each year of the planning period while maintaining levels of quality of service".
	The Department is currently on course to meet this target.

Anti-drugs Strategy

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the results of the use of the additional funding allocated in the 2001 Budget to tackle drug-related crime and drug abuse.

Jane Kennedy: The Chancellor awarded £9.347 million over three years to Northern Ireland in the 2001 Budget. Of this figure £6.23 million will be transferred to the NI Executive, the remainder being retained by the Northern Ireland Office. Both administrations are currently developing action plans to identify the key focus of the support programmes to tackle illicit drug use. It is too early to specify the impact of this additional funding.

Visiting Heads of State

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the protocol to be followed by visiting Heads of State to Northern Ireland in respect of (a) official visits and (b) private visits.

John Reid: When a Head of State makes an official visit to Northern Ireland full protocol is observed. The visitor is met by the lord-lieutenant of the county or county borough. The sheriff for the county or county borough, the mayor of the borough or chairman of the district council, the chief executive of the council and the Member of Parliament for the constituency are invited to take part in the presentation lines. Northern Ireland Office Ministers and devolved Ministers are also invited to take part in presentation lines as appropriate.
	Where a visit is private, there is no requirement for protocol.
	When a visit is classed as a working visit, a lord-lieutenant greets the Head of State. Members of Parliament, Northern Ireland Office Ministers and devolved Ministers are advised, for information only, of the Head of State's attendance at public venues within their constituency or areas of responsibility.

Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the religious affiliation is of those employed in the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland; which groups were consulted prior to the creation of the Office; what the breakdown is by postcode of where complaints were made from since the creation of the Office; and what costs were incurred by the Office in the last year.

Jane Kennedy: The religious affiliation of the Police Ombudsman's office which currently employs 108 staff is 46.2 per cent. Protestant, 34.6 per cent. Catholic and 19.2 per cent. others.
	Before the Office of the Police Ombudsman was set up, the Northern Ireland Office set up a steering group which was representative of all the main stakeholders, including the police, police staff associations and the Police Authority.
	The costs incurred by the Police Ombudsman's Office January 2001 to October 2001 are £3.74 million.
	The table shows the breakdown by postcode of complaints received to date:
	
		
			 Postcode  Number of complaints 
		
		
			 BT1 56 
			 BT2 1 
			 BT4 46 
			 BT5 86 
			 BT6 38 
			 BT7 90 
			 BT8 40 
			 BT8 92 
			 BT10 12 
			 BT11 85 
			 BT12 183 
			 BT13 130 
			 BT14 262 
			 BT15 169 
			 BT16 20 
			 BT17 80 
			 BT18 28 
			 BT19 66 
			 BT20 44 
			 BT21 8 
			 BT22 27 
			 BT23 100 
			 BT24 30 
			 BT25 9 
			 BT26 3 
			 BT27 23 
			 BT28 67 
			 BT29 13 
			 BT30 119 
			 BT31 7 
			 BT32 34 
			 BT33 20 
			 BT34 62 
			 BT35 39 
			 BT36 87 
			 BT37 36 
			 BT38 76 
			 BT39 25 
			 BT40 48 
			 BT41 80 
			 BT43 75 
			 BT44 19 
			 BT45 34 
			 BT46 8 
			 BT47 95 
			 BT48 128 
			 BT49 45 
			 BT51 38 
			 BT52 58 
			 BT53 18 
			 BT54 2 
			 BT55 7 
			 BT56 15 
			 BT57 2 
			 BT60 34 
			 BT61 38 
			 BT62 91 
			 BT63 34 
			 BT64 4 
			 BT65 42 
			 BT66 33 
			 BT67 24 
			 BT70 20 
			 BT71 42 
			 BT74 1 
			 BT75 3 
			 BT76 2 
			 BT77 56 
			 BT78 61 
			 BT79 63 
			 BT80 10 
			 BT81 87 
			 BT82 54 
			 BT92 18 
			 BT93 7 
			 BT94 21 
			 Outside Northern Ireland 5 
			 Unknown 220

Police Service

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date new recruits to the reformed Police Service of Northern Ireland will complete their training in 2002.

Jane Kennedy: The first intake of new recruits to the Police Service of Northern Ireland will complete their initial training on 4 April 2002. Those that complete the training successfully will be attested as Constables on 5 April 2002, and will then undergo an eight week period of combined operational training. This will be followed by a period of 'tutorship' in District Command Units, beginning on 10 June 2002, before recruits are posted to their individual stations on 19 August 2002.
	Further tranches of recruits will complete this training schedule approximately every five weeks thereafter.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Race Crime

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases of (a) incitement to race hatred and (b) racist violence have been brought before courts in England and Wales; and of these how many have been successful in each of the past three years.

Harriet Harman: Records for prosecutions for incitement of racial hatred under part III of the Public Order Act 1986 have been kept since 1988. The records relate to the year that the application for consent to prosecute was dealt with and so it is not possible to state with any certainty how many prosecutions resulted in convictions in any given year. The number of applications for consent to prosecute for each year since 1999 and the number of convictions resulting from the prosecutions are summarised in the table.
	
		Consent applications and prosecutions since 1999 under part III of the Public Order Act 1986
		
			  1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Number of Attorney-General consent applications(3) 4 5 8 
			 Withdrawn — — — 
			 Not granted — — — 
			 Prosecuted 4 5 8 
			 Convicted(4) 3 (5)2 (6)— 
		
	
	(3) Per defendant.
	(4) Not necessarily in same year.
	(5) One result outstanding. One prosecution stayed on ill health grounds.
	(6) Results awaited.
	Note:
	1. Data for prosecutions of racist violent offences are included in figures published annually by the Home Office. The offences covered are racially aggravated offences under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which came into force on 30 September 1998. The racially aggravated (RA) offences are:
	(i) RA wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm.
	(ii) RA actual bodily harm.
	(iii) RA common assault.
	(iv) RA intentional harassment alarm or distress.
	(v) RA offence of harassment.
	(vi) RA putting people in fear of violence.
	The figures supplied by the Home Office for 1999 and 2000 (data for 2001 not available) are given as follows on a principal offence basis.
	
		
			 Year Prosecuted Convicted 
		
		
			 1999 1,330 451 
			 2000(7) 2,342 878 
		
	
	(7) Staffordshire police force was only able to submit sample data for persons dealt with at magistrates' courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust at a detailed level and have been excluded from this table.

WALES

Abandoned Vehicles

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost was to each county council in Wales of removing and disposing of abandoned vehicles in the last year.

Paul Murphy: That is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Energy Efficiency

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure delivery of energy efficiency services to rural areas;
	(2)  what representations he has received concerning constraints on delivery of energy efficiency services to rural areas.

Michael Meacher: I have been asked to reply.
	General energy efficiency advice is available through Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEACs). A network of 52 centres around the country provides advice to all areas. In addition, the Environment and Energy Helpline is available for businesses, whatever their location, to provide guidance and advice.
	The Government's main grant programme for improving the energy efficiency of private sector households is the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES). The two scheme managers—Eaga Partnerships Ltd. and TXU Warm Front Ltd.—are responsible for marketing the programme across the country. Both scheme managers provide regular progress reports on the effectiveness of these programmes.
	They use a variety of methods including working with health professionals such as practice nurses and health visitors together with social workers and others involved in the health or welfare of vulnerable clients. The scheme managers also enter into partnerships with bodies such as travelling libraries, which visit rural communities on a regular basis, and Meals on Wheels. In addition, a travelling bus has been used as a focal point to reach those in outlying areas.
	One of the five Warm Zones the Government are piloting has been set up in Northumberland to test an area, rather than a referral-based mechanism, for reaching the fuel poor. The purpose is to test whether this improves the take-up of the scheme in rural areas.
	The Government are aware that the construction of some rural properties coupled with lack of access to the main gas network can make it difficult to make homes energy efficient. The Fuel Poverty Strategy sets out our intention to carry out large scale pilots using renewable energy sources and micro combined heat and power to explore how these technologies could be used to help the fuel poor.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on UK participation in peacekeeping activities in Afghanistan.

Ben Bradshaw: As outlined by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence in a statement to this House on 19 November 2001, the United Kingdom has agreed to take on the lead nation role in the International Security Assistance Force. The core mission of the ISAF will be to assist in the maintenance of security in Kabul and the surrounding area so as to help in the establishment of the Interim Authority and the initial activities of the United Nations.

Afghanistan

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political settlement in Afghanistan and its impact on international terrorism.

Ben Bradshaw: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said on 5 December,
	"The signing on 5 December of the Agreement on Afghanistan's future is a significant achievement. It is a victory for the coalition against terrorism. A stable Afghanistan, with a broad-based government, is as important to our own security as it is to the Afghan people."
	The new interim administration has already indicated its willingness to co-operate with the UK on information- sharing on alleged terrorists.

Afghanistan

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the President of Pakistan on the future Government of Afghanistan.

Ben Bradshaw: During his visit to Pakistan on 22–23 November, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed the situation in Afghanistan with President Musharraf. The Secretary of State expressed our continuing appreciation for President Musharraf's courageous decision to support the fight against terrorism and the practical assistance that Pakistan has provided. The Secretary of State also discussed the situation in Pakistan and sought President Musharraf's advice on how best to achieve our shared objective of a broad-based multi-ethnic Government in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister also met President Musharraf on his visit to Pakistan on 7 January and paid tribute to President Musharraf's role in the international coalition.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of the cultivation of heroin poppy crops in Afghanistan in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; and what the level was in 2001–02.

Ben Bradshaw: It is impossible to predict what level of opium cultivation there will be in Afghanistan in 2002–03 and 2003–04. We hope the economic reconstruction programme will develop alternative livelihoods for opium poppy farmers. Under the agreement reached in Bonn the Interim Administration would co-operate with the international community in the fight against drugs. We now look to the Interim Administration to live up to this commitment with the help of the international community.
	The planting season for the 2001–02 opium poppy crop is now drawing to a close. No reliable estimate of the level of cultivation will be available until February 2002 when UNDCP propose to conduct a limited survey. The results of the comprehensive UNDCP survey will not be available until September 2002.

EU Enlargement (Poland)

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Polish Government on EU enlargement.

Peter Hain: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Warsaw in October for talks with Foreign Minister Cimoszewicz. They discussed the importance of Poland making early progress in the negotiations in order to make the first wave of accession in 2004.

Drug Trafficking

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further measures he proposes to clamp down on international drug trafficking.

Ben Bradshaw: We will continue to work closely with the Governments and law enforcement agencies of the key countries on the main trafficking routes for illegal drugs to the UK. The heroin trade from Afghanistan remains a particular concern. We welcome the recent agreement in Bonn that the Interim Authority shall co-operate with the international community in the fight against terrorism, drugs and organised crime, and look forward to playing a key role in this process.

Cuba

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit Cuba; and if he will make a statement on the UK's relations with Cuba.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no present plans to visit Cuba, but looks forward to further developing the good relationship following his successful meeting with the Cuban Foreign Minister in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in November 2001.

Laeken Summit

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the conclusion of the Laeken Conference, with specific reference to the creation of a convention to discuss the future constitutional arrangement of the EU.

Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Mr. David), on 8 January 2002, Official Report, columns 407–08.

Anti-terrorism Campaign (Russia)

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the role of Russia in the campaign against terrorism.

Ben Bradshaw: Russia is an important partner in the international coalition against terrorism, as was demonstrated by the announcement of the UK/Russian Joint Working Group on International Terrorism on 21 December during President Putin's visit. This underlined our shared commitment to fighting terrorism by diplomatic, military and economic means.

Lusaka Peace Process

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with the Lusaka peace process in the Great Lakes region.

Ben Bradshaw: A key element of the peace process, the Inter Congolese Dialogue, is due to start in South Africa at the end of this month. Foreign troops are being withdrawn and there has been some progress in the disarmament and demobilisation of rebels operating in the DRC. We hope that the Foreign Secretary's visit to the region with his French counterpart later this month will help push forward the process still further.

Kazakhstan

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Britain's relations with Kazakhstan.

Peter Hain: Our relations with Kazakhstan are excellent. We are developing bilateral co-operation over a wide area including the political, commercial, defence, cultural and educational fields.

West Bank/Gaza

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Government of Israel and (b) the Palestinian Authority concerning population settlements in (i) the West Bank and (ii) Gaza.

Ben Bradshaw: Our view on Israeli settlement activity is clear, and has often been expressed to both the Israel Government and the Palestinian Authority. Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories are illegal, and an obstacle to peace.

EU Enlargement

Iain Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role Britain is playing in helping to prepare those countries applying for accession to the EU.

Peter Hain: Since 1989, the UK has provided £350 million through the Know-How Fund to help the candidates prepare for accession. We have "Action Plans" with 11 of the 13 candidates, and will launch another soon. The plans bring together the UK's practical assistance to the candidates across a range of activities involving all Whitehall Departments.
	Under the Commission's "Twinning" programme, over 40 British civil servants are seconded as long-term pre-accession advisers to Ministries in the candidate countries. Since 1998, the UK has won involvement in over 90 twinning projects—the third highest number of any member state—targeted on each candidate's priority areas for EU accession.

EU Enlargement

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards EU enlargement.

Peter Hain: The enlargement negotiations have made good progress under the Belgian presidency, in line with the roadmap (timetable) for negotiations agreed at Nice. The Laeken European Council (14–15 December) confirmed its objective to complete accession negotiations by the end of 2002 with those candidates that are ready, so they can participate in the 2004 European Parliament elections as members.

Yemen

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent consultations he has had with the Government of Yemen about the international coalition against terrorism.

Ben Bradshaw: We are in regular contact with our many international partners in the coalition against terrorism. I met the Yemeni President's envoy, Dr. Iriyani, when he visited London in October 2001. We discussed the international coalition against terrorism and the Yemeni Government's views towards terrorism.
	The Government of Yemen have Her Majesty's Government's support in their efforts to combat terrorism.

Kyoto Protocol

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent discussions he has had with the United States on the ratification of the Kyoto protocol.

Peter Hain: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has concentrated on the war against terrorism in his recent discussions with the US. Other senior members of this Government have continued to raise the importance of the Kyoto protocol at every appropriate opportunity. My right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have both recently visited the US, where they met senior US politicians. They emphasised the UK's commitment to ratifying Kyoto and encouraged the US to take domestic action to tackle climate change in the short term and to re-engage with the international process in the longer term.

Middle East Peace Process

Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on developments in the middle east peace process.

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in the middle east.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison), on 8 January 2002, Official Report, columns 397–98.

Middle East Peace Process

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US Administration about their role in securing peace in the middle east.

Ben Bradshaw: We have regular discussions with both the US and our EU partners on the subject of the middle east peace process. We stand ready to do all we can to help both parties return to negotiations, and particularly welcome the role of the US envoy to the region, General Zinni.

EU Enlargement (Turkey)

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had regarding Turkey's candidacy for membership of the EU.

Peter Hain: During his visit to Turkey on 17–18 October where he met President Sezer, Prime Minister Ecevit and Foreign Minister Cem, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary welcomed Turkey's recent constitutional changes as progress towards meeting the Copenhagen criteria, and encouraged the Turkish Government to continue their efforts to reform. As the Laeken European Council of 14–15 December noted, this progress has brought forward the prospect of opening accession negotiations with Turkey.

Colombia

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received on human rights in Colombia.

Denis MacShane: We continue to receive numerous representations from Members of Parliament, leading UK non-governmental organisations such as ABColombia, CAFOD and Peace Brigades International, and members of the public about human rights in Colombia. Several UK trade unions have recently expressed their concerns. I met a number of peace activists and human rights NGOs during my visit to Colombia in October 2001. We continue to make representations to the Colombian Government about human rights. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office co-sponsored a Forum on Human Rights in Colombia in London on 31 October 2001.

Zimbabwe

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last had discussions with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth about the situation in Zimbabwe.

Ben Bradshaw: The latest discussion on Zimbabwe with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth took place at the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting held on 20 December.

Zimbabwe

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK citizens will assist in ensuring that the Zimbabwe 2002 Presidential elections are free and fair.

Ben Bradshaw: We have not yet received an invitation from the Government of Zimbabwe to send observers to this year's Presidential election. It is therefore too early to say how many UK nationals may or may not be deployed as election observers.

Zimbabwe

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Libyan involvement in Zimbabwe.

Ben Bradshaw: Relations between Libya and Zimbabwe are a matter for those two countries. We have seen no evidence to support recent speculatory press articles on Libya's involvement in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Southern African Governments about the situation in Zimbabwe.

Ben Bradshaw: We are in regular dialogue with Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries about the situation in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Abuja Agreement following recent events in Zimbabwe.

Ben Bradshaw: At Abuja, Zimbabwe agreed that its land reform programme should be fair, just and sustainable and in the interest of all the people of Zimbabwe. It also committed itself to restore the rule of law to land reform and to respect the Harare Commonwealth Declaration. The Government of Zimbabwe's actions over the past few months show their scant regard for these commitments. They have seriously undermined the Abuja agreement.

Cyprus

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Governments of Turkey and Greece regarding the future of Cyprus.

Peter Hain: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discusses Cyprus regularly with Turkish Foreign Minister Cem. He visited Ankara 17–18 October and met Foreign Minister Cem at UN General Assembly on 12 November. The Foreign Secretary's last formal bilateral with Greek Foreign Minister Papandreou was on 4 October, at which Cyprus was discussed, but they also have discussions regularly in the margins of EU and other international meetings.

Angola

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the situation in Angola.

Ben Bradshaw: We continue to be concerned by the human consequences of the civil war in Angola, which include widespread suffering, internal displacement and the violation of human rights.
	We urge dialogue, involving all parties to the conflict, as an essential first step towards addressing these problems. We welcome the growing contribution of the churches and civil society to finding a sustainable solution.

Terrorist Networks

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on diplomatic action he has taken to eliminate terrorist networks in countries other than Afghanistan.

Ben Bradshaw: Diplomatic action to eliminate terrorist networks is one of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's priorities. We regularly raise counter-terrorism issues with a wide range of Governments and in many international organisations and have an active programme of international co-operation in this area. This activity has increased significantly since 11 September. We consistently call for an end to state sponsorship and for firm action to root out terrorist networks on the part of Governments which unwillingly host terrorists.

Arms Embargoes

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries are subject to (a) an EU arms embargo and (b) a UN arms embargo.

Ben Bradshaw: Countries subject to a United Nations arms embargo are Afghanistan (territory under Taliban control), Angola (UNITA), Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone (non-Government forces) and Somalia. There are also restrictions in place on Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Uganda where arms and related material are intended for use in Rwanda.
	Countries that are not subject to a UN arms embargo that are subject to European Union restrictions are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burma, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Sudan.
	A full account of the sanctions operated by the United Kingdom, including the United Nations and European Union measures, can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at http://files.fco.gov.uk/ und/sanctions/list.pdf.

Egypt

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Egypt.

Ben Bradshaw: We have a strong relationship with the Government of Egypt: interests in the region are often parallel and Egypt has, in particular, played an important role in the Middle East Peace Process. UK/Egypt trade relations are also very strong and continue to grow. We have concerns about individual cases of human rights abuse in Egypt. We shall continue to encourage the Egyptian authorities, both bilaterally and through the EU, to work towards improving their human rights record.

Capital Assets

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's answer of 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 889W, on capital assets, if he will place in the Library information on the accounting treatment of the public private partnership projects relating to (a) the Berlin Embassy, (b) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Telecommunications Network, (c) GCHQ Building, (d) car leasing and (e) IT Registry (Minerva); and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The accounting treatment of all public private partnership projects within the Department is in line with relevant generally accepted accounting practice, in particular FRS5 and also with specific HM Treasury guidance.
	The GCHQ building is not funded by the FCO, all other projects listed are treated as operating leases and are, therefore, not included in the Department's balance sheet.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Government will be responsible for (a) overseeing and (b) drafting the terms of a referendum of the people of Gibraltar on a change in sovereignty.

Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Mr. Mackinlay) on 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 853W.
	Since any change to the Gibraltar constitution could trigger primary legislation in the UK, Her Majesty's Government would, in consultation with the Government of Gibraltar, expect to oversee the organisation and timing of any referendum of the people of Gibraltar on a change in sovereignty, and to propose and endorse the terms of any such referendum.

Gibraltar

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent developments in the sovereignty of Gibraltar.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley, South (Mr. O'Hara) on 20 November 2001, Official Report, column 187W.

Gibraltar

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent briefings have taken place with the Financial Times over the future of Gibraltar.

Peter Hain: There have been no recent briefings with the Financial Times over the future of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place about using the model for Andorra as a model for joint sovereignty of Gibraltar.

Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley, South (Mr. O'Hara) on 20 November 2001, Official Report, column 187W. A copy of the joint press communiqué issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs when they met under the Brussels Process in Barcelona on 20 November has been placed in the Libraries of the House. The Ministers discussed the full range of issues set out in the November 1984 Brussels Communiqué. Their discussions did not include the Andorra model.

Forced Labour

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Governments of (a) Bangladesh, (b) India and (c) Pakistan regarding forced labour in their countries.

Ben Bradshaw: We continue to raise human rights concerns, including bonded and forced labour, with the Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indian authorities. We remind the authorities of the need to uphold the basic rights of all people, particularly the poor and disadvantaged who are most vulnerable to forced/bonded labour. We welcome the three countries' ratification of International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions which encourage equal pay among men and women. We also welcome Bangladesh's and Pakistan's ratification of ILO conventions that protect the labour rights of children.

President Mugabe

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Spanish counterpart over President Mugabe's recent medical treatment in that country.

Ben Bradshaw: None.

President Mugabe

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received on the meetings between President Mugabe and the Spanish Government during the President's recent trip to Spain.

Ben Bradshaw: The Spanish Government have told us that there were no meetings between the Spanish Government and President Mugabe during his recent trip to Spain.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the suspected activities at the Salman Pak training camp in Iraq.

Ben Bradshaw: The Salman Pak "camp" is a group of facilities close to Baghdad. We are aware of press reports that claim Salman Pak is used as a terrorist training camp. We take these reports seriously, however, there is currently no direct evidence linking al-Qaeda to Salman Pak.

Sierra Leone

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Sierra Leone and the progress of the British military mission.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government's strategy towards Sierra Leone was set out in the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 6 June 2000. The effectiveness of that strategy has been demonstrated by the progress we have made towards peace and stability in Sierra Leone.
	Since the beginning of 2001, over 40,000 former combatants have disarmed. They are now being reintegrated into society. A new, more effective and accountable Sierra Leone army, trained by UK forces, is deploying with civil administrators throughout the country. This has signalled the visible restoration of Government authority. Supported by the international community, the Government of Sierra Leone are preparing to hold elections in May 2002.
	The situation in Sierra Leone will, however, continue to be fragile, at least until ordinary Sierra Leoneans are able to enjoy the benefits of peace. The Government of Sierra Leone need rapidly to mobilise substantial additional resources to rehabilitate the country's devastated communities, institutions and economy. As Sierra Leone's largest bilateral donor, the UK will continue to help the Government of Sierra Leone through a wide-ranging programme of assistance.
	As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence indicated in a written statement to the House on 18 December, our military training and assistance programme continues to make good progress towards its goal of developing professional, accountable and effective Sierra Leone armed forces, better able to protect the security and integrity of Sierra Leone. The people of Sierra Leone are increasingly confident of the new Sierra Leone armed forces. We will, through the International Military Advisory and Training Team, continue to work to raise the standard and develop the capacity of the Sierra Leone armed forces.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many NDPBs there were in the United Kingdom in 2001; and how many (a) paid and (b) unpaid quango appointees there were.

Christopher Leslie: Information on advisory and executive non-departmental public bodies, tribunals and other public bodies is published in the annual Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies". This includes the location of the bodies concerned, their terms of reference, expenditure, appointments and remuneration. The next edition of Public Bodies will be published shortly, and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House in the usual way.

Civil Service Management Code

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which Minister has responsibility for the Civil Service Management Code.

Christopher Leslie: The Civil Service Management Code is issued under the authority of the Civil Service Order in Council 1995 under which the Minister for the Civil Service has the power to make regulations and give instructions for the management of the Home Civil Service. This includes the power to prescribe the conditions of service of civil servants. The Prime Minister, as Minister for the Civil Service, delegates this power through Lord MacDonald of Tradeston to me.

Inter-Ministerial Group on Ageing

Candy Atherton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many times the Inter-Ministerial Group on Ageing has met in this Session of Parliament.

Ian McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
	Under paragraph 2 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, information about Cabinet Committee business is not released.

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS

Departmental Consultants

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 22 November 2001, Official Report, column 390W, on consultants, if he will list for each of the consultants and advisers named (a) the length of their contract including start and finish dates, (b) whether they were appointed after open competition, (c) the job specification for their contract, (d) the cost to his Department of their contract, (e) other contracts which they have with his Department and (f) other contracts held with other Government Departments.

Stephen Byers: For (a), (b) and (c), the information requested is as follows:
	AEA Technology Rail
	This contract, which related to rail passenger demand profiles and lasted for one month in July 2001, was let by the Association of Train Operating Companies.
	Allen and Overy
	(a) Four years three months from January 1998 to March 2002
	(b) No
	(c) Advice on the Channel Tunnel Concession Agreement
	AON
	This contract, which relates to insurance advice on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, was let by Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. Arthur Andersen
	(a) On-going from September 2001
	(b) No
	(c) Accountancy advice on matters relating to Railtrack
	Booz Allen and Hamilton
	This contract, which related to Eurostar passenger and revenue forecasts and lasted for 15 months from February 2000 to May 2001, was let by Mott Parsons Gibb.
	Clifford Chance
	(a) Two years from October 1999 to October 2001
	(b) Yes
	(c) Legal advice on the Transport Bill
	CMS Cameron McKenna
	(a) On-going from May 1996
	(b) Yes
	(c) Legal advice on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, extended to advice on matters relating to Railtrack in August 2001
	Deloitte and Touche
	This contract, which concerns accountancy advice on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, was let by Schroder Salomon Smith Barney.
	Ernst and Young
	(a) Six weeks from August to October 2001
	(b) No
	(c) Accountancy advice on matters relating to Railtrack and (as a contingency in the event of the Secretary of State refusing Railtrack plc's request for additional funding and of a railway administration order being made) on administration matters generally.
	Eversheds
	(a) Call-off contract on-going from October 1999
	(b) Yes
	(c) Advice on rail pension issues
	KPMG
	(a) On-going from June 1992
	(b) Yes
	(c) Accountancy and taxation advice on the implementation of rail privatisation; currently advising on post-privatisation, residual taxation matters
	MDS Transmodal
	(a) Six weeks from August to September 2001
	(b) No
	(c) Multi-modal freight forecasts
	Mercers Management Consulting
	(a) On-going from August 2001
	(b) No
	(c) Management consultancy advice on matters relating to Railtrack
	Mott Parsons Gibb
	(a) On-going from May 1996
	(b) Yes
	(c) Project representatives for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
	NERA
	This contract, which concerns economic advice, was let by Mercers Management Consulting.
	Oscar Faber
	(a) On-going from April 2001
	(b) Yes
	(c) Development of a national rail model
	Peter Davidson Consultancy
	(a) On-going from July 2001
	(b) No
	(c) Updating of 1997 rail ticket sales data profiles
	PricewaterhouseCoopers
	This contract, which concerned a Freightliner grant application, finished in August 2000.
	Saunders and Dolleymore
	(a) Six years from April 1997 to March 2003
	(b) Yes
	(c) Trade mark services in connection with the "double arrows" logo
	Saxton Bampfylde Hever
	(a) Call-off contract; advice from June to October 2001
	(b) Yes
	(c) Advice on senior recruitment
	Schroder Salomon Smith Barney
	(a) On-going from June 1996
	(b) Yes
	(c) Financial advice on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
	Schroder Salomon Smith Barney
	(a) On-going from August 2001
	(b) No
	(c) Financial advice on matters relating to Railtrack
	SEMA Group UK
	(a) On-going from July 2001
	(b) No
	(c) Provision of an extract of 2000 rail ticket sales data
	United Kingdom Accreditation Service
	(a) One year from November 2001 to October 2002
	(b) No
	(c) Development of an assessment regime for applicants for appointment as notified bodies for the High Speed Rail Interoperability Directive (Council Directive 96/48/EC).
	For individual consultants and advisers, the information requested under (d) is commercially confidential but, for all of them together, just over £10 million has been spent in the last twelve months.
	Information on (e) and (f) is not recorded centrally.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 November 2001, Official Report, column 35W, on London Underground, what action has been taken against Westinghouse Rail Systems in response to the number of signal failures in the three years since that company introduced the new signalling system.

David Jamieson: This is a matter for London Underground who are wholly responsible for the management of contracts with their suppliers.

Ferry Services

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the restoration of regular ferry services between Newhaven and Dieppe; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The ferry service has been restored. The vessel concerned was withdrawn from service while serious safety deficiencies identified by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency and its French counterpart were rectified. The safety of passengers is my paramount concern.

Congestion Charging

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whom he has met to discuss the implementation of the Mayor of London's proposed congestion charging scheme; and what was discussed at these meetings.

David Jamieson: Ministers meet a variety of people to discuss a variety of issues including congestion charging. Any congestion charging scheme in London is a matter for the Mayor. The Government's involvement is with respect to exemptions policy and value for money in the use of the net proceeds.

Congestion Charging

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many representations he has received on the Mayor of London's proposed congestion charging scheme.

David Jamieson: Between May 2000 and 18 December 2001 we had received about 70 letters. However, the proposed congestion charging scheme for central London is a matter for the Mayor.

Congestion Charging

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what (a) responsibilities and (b) powers he has with respect to the implementation of a congestion charging scheme in London; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Government's powers in relation to congestion charging in London extend to ensuring that the net revenues from any scheme are spent on value for money transport measures and to national exemptions policy.
	I understand that the consultation period on the scheme does not close until the middle of January 2002 and that the Mayor is aiming to announce his decision in mid February. The Government will consider the final version of the spending plan once Transport for London has finished the consultation process.
	Regarding exemptions policy, we have already announced that there will be England-wide exemptions from both road user charging and the workplace parking levy for ambulances and for police and fire emergency vehicles, and for at least some disabled people; and some form of England-wide exemption or concession from the workplace parking levy for NHS hospitals. We have no plans at present for any further England-wide concessions or exemptions.
	It will be open to local authorities, including the Mayor in London, to grant additional concessions or exemptions in their schemes, if they judge it appropriate to do so.

Staff Parking

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many staff parking places are provided in central London by his Department.

Alan Whitehead: 49, across our six buildings in central London. It is our policy however to allow staff parking only for those with disabilities affecting their mobility, or for medical or exceptional operational requirements.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people were employed in his Department in each of the last four years.

Alan Whitehead: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 256W.

Local Government Finance (Devon)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the value was of the Government's local government financial settlement for the (a) East Devon district council and (b) Devon county council in each year from 1978–79 to 2001–02; and what the percentage increase was on the previous year.

Alan Whitehead: Information on allocations to individual authorities in years before 1990 is no longer held centrally. The table gives figures for Standard Spending Assessments (SSA) for the two authorities from 1990–91 to 2001–02, and the percentage increase in each year after adjusting for changes in function or funding responsibilities. Local government restructuring applied to Devon from 1998–99 so it is not possible to calculate a meaningful increase for the county in that year.
	
		
			 Year SSA (£ million) Percentage increase 
		
		
			 Devon CC   
			 1990–91 486.1 — 
			 1991–92 573.4 17.9 
			 1992–93 613.9 7.1 
			 1993–94 590.8 3.8 
			 1994–95 614.0 1.0 
			 1995–96 592.0 1.7 
			 1996–97 627.9 3.7 
			 1997–98 646.3 2.4 
			 1998–99 424.0 — 
			 1999–2000 448.2 3.2 
			 2000–01 470.7 5.7 
			 2001–02 493.0 5.0 
			
			 East Devon DC   
			 1990–91 6.9 — 
			 1991–92 8.8 28.5 
			 1992–93 9.4 6.5 
			 1993–94 9.8 4.1 
			 1994–95 10.6 8.2 
			 1995–96 10.7 0.6 
			 1996–97 10.5 -1.3 
			 1997–98 10.3 -1.9 
			 1998–99 10.2 -1.0 
			 1999–2000 10.7 4.3 
			 2000–01 11.0 2.9 
			 2001–02 11.6 5.0

Objective 1 Funding

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what percentage of European funding available to (a) Cornwall, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) Merseyside and (d) West Wales and the Valleys under the Objective 1 Programme has been committed to projects in the respective areas.

Sally Keeble: The table gives the information requested for the three Objective 1 areas in England as at the 20 December 2001. The implementation of the Objective 1 programme in Wales is a matter for the National Assembly but I understand that as at the end of November, 23 per cent. of the funds available to the programme had been committed.
	
		
			  Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly South Yorkshire Merseyside 
		
		
			 Commitments so far as a proportion of total allocation(8) 20.9 24.2 15.9 
			 Value of grant committed so far(9) 64.6 172.2 134.1 
		
	
	(8) Percentage
	(9) £ million

SRB Funding (Cornwall)

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much funding from the Single Regeneration Budget was granted to projects in Cornwall between 1997 and 2001.

Sally Keeble: The total grant from the Single Regeneration Budget between financial years 1996–97 and 2000–01 was £8,999,461.

SRB Funding (Cornwall)

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much funding from the Single Regeneration Budget was granted to projects in Cornwall between 1994 and 1997.

Sally Keeble: The total grant in financial years 1995–96 and 1996–97 was £1,271,805. The programme was then known as the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund and expenditure commenced in 1995–96.

Motorcycles

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress towards better integration of motorcycles into overall transport planning.

David Jamieson: The Government recognise that motorcycles have a part to play in a national transport strategy. My Department is actively seeking to include them in all relevant transport planning and policy documents.
	The Government's White Paper on the Future of Transport, A New Deal for Transport: Better For Everyone, recognised that mopeds and motorcycles can provide an alternative means of transport for many trips. It acknowledged that where public transport is limited and walking unrealistic, motorcycling can provide an affordable alternative to the car, bring benefits to the individual and widen their employment opportunities.
	Our Guidance on Full Local Transport Plans built on this. It stated that local authorities should take account of the contribution powered two wheelers can make in delivering integrated transport policies and should consider specific measures to assist motorcyclists in making integrated journeys. Indeed, it advised that all relevant aspects of LTPsincluding road safety, planning and social policiesshould take account of the needs of motorcyclists.
	The Government's 10-Year Plan for transport highlighted advantages of motorcycles over cars and the Government's Planning Policy Guidance, which concerns planning as applied to land use and transport, also includes references to motorcycling. It recognises a role for motorcycles as an alternative to the car, particularly where public transport is limited and walking unrealistic, and advises local authorities to consider such measures as appropriate motorcycle parking and the inclusion of motorcycles in park and ride schemes.

Motorcycles

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  what progress he has made towards reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured in road accidents involving cars and motorcyclists over the past 12 months;
	(2)  what measures he is taking to ensure that local authorities introduce motorcycle safety programmes and car driver targeted motorcycle awareness campaigns in local authority areas.

David Jamieson: The number of motorcyclists killed and seriously injured in accidents with cars rose from 4,195 in 1999 to 4,508 in 2000. We are seeking to address this at a local and national level. The Local Transport Plan process requires local authorities to produce a local road safety strategy. This should set out how authorities plan to tackle road traffic casualties in their area, including the current road accident casualty problem. Measures to be pursued will be for the local authority to determine in the light of local circumstances. The local safety strategy should also outline what education, training and publicity work will be undertaken by the authority.
	At a national level our Road Safety Strategy includes a number of measures to improve motorcycle safety. We have already replaced the one-year ban for learners who do not pass the motorcycle test within two years with a further training requirement. We have introduced a training requirement for newly qualified drivers wishing to ride a moped and ended the exemption from the motorcycle theory test for those holding a full car licence. The theory test for drivers also now includes more questions about motorcyclists. We have also co-operated with industry in the production of codes of practice for motorcycle couriers and fast food delivery riders.
	Other measures we are pursuing include issuing advice to car drivers and motorcyclists about the vulnerability of motorcyclists, improving training for all riders, establishing a register of accredited motorcycle instructors, and engineering and technical measures which may protect motorcyclists better.

Motorcycles

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he intends to publish guidance for local authorities about the installation of secure parking facilities for motorcycles in towns and cities.

David Jamieson: The Department is preparing a Traffic Advisory Leaflet setting out advice to local authorities and others on providing high quality, secure and accessible parking for motorcycles. This is planned for publication by Easter.

Vehicle Lights

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many vehicles in the UK are fitted with daytime running lights; and what percentage this represents of the total vehicle fleet.

David Jamieson: Such details are not held by central Government.
	On the basis that only certain vehicle manufacturers have consistently fitted such lamps as a production feature, a motor industry estimate is that some 970,000 passenger cars fitted with daytime running lamps are currently registered in Great Britain. This represents approximately 3.5 per cent. of all passenger cars registered.
	These figures do not include Northern Ireland where there are an estimated 10,500 such passenger cars currently registered. Northern Ireland statistics do not provide sufficient information to express this as a percentage of the total passenger cars registered.

Vehicle Lights

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he had made of the impact on fuel consumption of the introduction of mandatory daytime running lights on all vehicles.

David Jamieson: European Commission estimates suggest that mandatory use of daytime running lights could increase fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions by 0.21 per cent. to 1.38 per cent.
	No separate UK assessment has been made.

Bull Bars

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people have (a) died and (b) suffered injuries through accidents associated with vehicles fitted with bull bars in each year since 1995.

David Jamieson: Figures for accidents associated with vehicles fitted with bull bars are not recorded separately. The Transport Research Laboratory carried out a special study of a sample of police reports of accidents involving bull bars and estimated that in 1994 there were around two additional deaths in Great Britain due to bull bars. However, TRL did not find any single case in the sample where a bull bar had definitely caused a death.

Bull Bars

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many vehicles in the UK are fitted with bull bars; and what percentage this represents of the entire vehicle fleet.

David Jamieson: The number of vehicles fitted with bull bars is not officially recorded. In 1997 we estimated that there were around 620,000 vehicles fitted with bull bars in Great Britain. This would have equated to 2.3 per cent. of total licensed vehicles.

Pedestrian Safety

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many representations the Government have received on its consultation document on pedestrian safety; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: There were a total of 42 formal responses to our consultation exercise on pedestrian protection. A list of those who responded, together with a summary of the responses, has been placed in the Library. The full responses can be viewed, by prior appointment, at the DTLR Library, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE (telephone 020 7944 6107).

Transport Projects (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much funding has been awarded to projects affecting the Buckingham constituency from the (a) Rural Transport Partnership, (b) Parish Transport Grant scheme, (c) Rural Bus Challenge Fund, (d) Rural Transport Development Fund, (e) Rural Bus Subsidy Grant and (f) Urban Bus Challenge fund in each year since their inception; and what the nature of the project and level of funding was in each case.

Sally Keeble: Of the funds mentioned, (b) the Parish Transport Fund and (f) the Urban Bus Challenge were launched in 2001 by the Countryside Agency and DTLR respectively. No funds have been awarded in Buckinghamshire by the Parish Transport Fund, and Buckinghamshire county council did not submit a bid for Urban Bus Challenge.
	Details of awards within the county of Buckinghamshire for the other grants or funds mentioned are set out in the tables. Records are not kept of awards by individual parliamentary constituencies.
	
		
			 Year Amount () Purpose 
		
		
			  (a) Rural Transport Partnership(10) 
			 200001 31,448 Establishment of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Rural Transport Partnership 
			 200102 27,562 Support for the RTP for 200102 
			  25,990 Dial-a-ride services 
			  12,034 Car sharing schemes 
			  3,376 Internet based alternative transport guide for socially excluded groups 
			  10,000 Delegated fund to support small-scale projects 
			
			  (c) Rural Bus Challenge(11) 
			 199899 985,000 County wide project to provide wheelchair accessible buses to operate new and enhanced services for the mobility impaired, school transport for children with disabilities and the general public, including dial-a-ride on Saturdays 
			 19992000 100,500 Community minibus service for Winslow area 
			 200001 0 No award to Buckinghamshire in 2000 
			
			  (d) Rural Transport Development Fund 
			 19992000 7,136 Support for a community transport officer in Buckinghamshire 
			 200001 2,356 Support for dial-a-ride services 
		
	
	(10) The Rural Transport Development Fund was merged with the Rural Transport Partnership fund in April 2001
	(11) The results of the 200102 Rural Bus Challenge will be announced shortly.
	
		
			  Amount () 
		
		
			 (e) Rural Bus Subsidy Grant(12)  
			 199899 561,112 
			 19992000 561,112 
			 200001 561,112 
			 200102 716,497 
			 200203 820,087 
		
	
	(12) RBSG is primarily for the support of new or enhanced rural bus services. In 200001 Buckinghamshire provided 28 services with the aid of the grant.

Homelessness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many night shelter beds were available in (a) London and (b) cities outside London in each of the last 10 years.

Sally Keeble: To date information on the number of hostel bedspaces in London and nationally has not been collated centrally. However, the DTLR has committed that the new Homelessness Directorate will collate information on hostel bedspaces.
	Between 1999 and 2002, the Government's Rough Sleepers Unit provided over 1,000 additional hostel spaces in London specifically for rough sleepers.

Homelessness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on what dates the Inter-Ministerial Group on Older People has discussed homelessness in the past 12 months.

Sally Keeble: holding answer 19 December 2001
	Under Exemption 2 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, details of Cabinet Committee business is not released.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, Winning the Generation Game, (a) what progress his Department has made and (b) what future plans his Department has for acting on them; and if he will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Sally Keeble: holding answer 19 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 335W, by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office.

Firemen (Attacks)

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many attacks there have been on firemen in the course of their duties in each year since 1997 in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the North East and (c) South Tyneside; and what plans he has to address this issue.

Alan Whitehead: Statistics on attacks on firefighters in the course of their duties are not held centrally. The cost of obtaining them would be disproportionate. Attacks are rare and there are procedures in place to protect firefighters when they are carrying out their duties. We do not have any plans to change existing arrangements.

Terminal 5

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many letters he has had from residents of the Battersea constituency about (a) Heathrow Terminal 5 and (b) nightflights.

David Jamieson: This information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Light Pollution

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement of his policy on light pollution and its control by the planning system.

Sally Keeble: Light pollution from development can be a material consideration in planning decisions. In recognition of this, the former Department of the Environment published in 1997 Lighting in the countryside: towards good practice. This guide was based on comprehensive research including a desk study of existing policies, controls, procedures, standards and advice, consultations and structured interviews with planning and highway authorities and a wide range of other interested parties. It provides a valuable reference source and tool for preventing and alleviating the adverse effects of poorly designed and installed lighting schemes on the English countryside. The good practice it sets out can, where appropriate, be material to individual planning decisions by local authorities, inspectors and the Secretary of State.

Coalfields Regeneration Trust

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reasons and with what aims his Department decided to establish the Coalfields Regeneration Trust to support the regeneration of former coalfields areas.

Sally Keeble: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is an independent, UK-wide, grant-making body launched in 1999 as part of the Government's response to the 1998 Coalfields Task Force report. The Task Force concluded that the problems of the coalfields were unique, due to a combination of factors that included concentrated joblessness, physical isolation, poor infrastructure and severe health problems. These factors, coupled with the speed of the collapse of the coal mining industry, meant that special measures were needed to bring about the physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration of these areas.
	The Trust's remit is to support the range of community initiatives identified by the Task Force as being key to rebuilding healthy and prosperous communities. It also sponsors projects targeted on workers displaced from mining-related industries, who have been unemployed for a long time and who face particular disadvantages at getting back to work. In addition it has an important role to play in community capacity building, providing a forum for good regeneration practice to be exchanged across the coalfield communities.

Disability Vehicle Stickers

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many local authorities provide a disability vehicle sticker for people with temporary disabilities; and what plans he has to encourage more authorities to provide such a service.

Sally Keeble: The Blue Badge scheme of parking concessions for disabled people is available only for people whose disability is long-term and substantial. Badges can be issued only for a minimum period of three years. Any stickers which local authorities issue for people with temporary disabilities are therefore outside the statutory scheme and no statistical records of their issue are kept by this Department. Extending the Blue Badge scheme to people with temporary disabilities is one of a number of possibilities currently being considered as part of a review of the scheme which the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) is co-ordinating on behalf of the Government.

Vehicle Excise Duty

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many motorists bought a VED licence in the year starting July 2000 with a single payment.

David Jamieson: The total number of annual licences taken out in the UK in July 2000 was some 1.8 million. Of this total, some 1.5 million were vehicles licensed in the Private Light Goods tax class (mainly private cars and light vans).

Vehicle Excise Duty

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations his Department has made to the Chancellor on rebates for vehicle excise duty under the Finance Act 2001.

David Jamieson: The normal consultations took place prior to the Budget.

Fatality Statistics

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people in the age groups (a) 0 to seven, (b) eight to 13 and (c) 14 to 18 years died as a result of fires in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Alan Whitehead: The table shows the number of children who have died in fires attended by local authority fire brigades in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2000 in the following age groups: 07, 813 and 1418.
	
		
			   Age  
			   07 813 1418 
		
		
			 1996 54 15 21 
			 1997 49 10 28 
			 1998 55 19 12 
			 1999 36 7 10 
			 2000(13) 28 8 23 
		
	
	(13) 2000 data are estimated, and are subject to revision as later information from inquests and death certificates confirming cause of death is received

Fatality Statistics

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people in the age groups (a) 0 to 7, (b) 8 to 13 and (c) 14 to 18 years died as a result of road crashes in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

David Jamieson: The table shows the number of young people killed in road accidents.
	
		Fatalities in road accidents: Great Britain
		
			   Accident year  
			 Age of casualty 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 0 to 7 78 71 70 68 59 
			 8 to 13 101 125 91 97 83 
			 14 to 18 405 354 286 310 298

Council Housing

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what changes he proposes in the borrowing arrangements for English local authorities to enable the construction of new council housing; and if he will make a statement.

Sally Keeble: The current arrangement whereby central Government approval is required for borrowing will be replaced, for local authorities in England, by a system where authorities are free to determine the amount of borrowing they undertake, subject to having the necessary resources to meet the costs of the borrowing. The change requires primary legislation and we are aiming to implement the new system by April 2004, or earlier if possible.
	It is a matter for local authorities to decide how these and other capital resources are used, based on the needs of the area. However, we expect the provision of new social housing to be provided through Registered Social Landlords rather than by the council itself as this provides a greater number of units from the available resources and increases choice and competition between social sector landlords.

Council Tenants

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many council tenants in each English local authority have been evicted for racist behaviour in each of the last three years.

Sally Keeble: This information is not collected centrally.

Road Safety (Drugs)

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of causal links discovered in studies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere between the use of (a) cannabis, (b) alcohol, (c) amphetamines and (d) anti-histamines and the incidence of road accidents.

David Jamieson: The causal link between alcohol and road accidents has long been established through research and evidence. The impairing effects of drugs, whether medicinal or illegal, on road accidents are not so well understood. Research demonstrates that cannabis affects driving but the effects may not be as severe as for alcohol. Amphetamines act as a stimulant but their effect may be very unpredictable, and repeated use can lead to fatigue. Anti-histamines can cause sedation and thus driver drowsiness.
	The issue for road safety is the impairment that drugs may cause to drivers. That is why the Department has supported the police in the training of officers to recognise the outward signs of drug consumption and in using field impairment tests to help them judge whether a driver may be impaired due to drugs.

Air Traffic Charges

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on what legal basis NATS charges private aircraft weighing less than 100 tonnes for night and IFR flights outside controlled airspace.

David Jamieson: In accordance with section 73 of the Transport Act 2000, the Civil Aviation Authority specifies the charges which are to be paid by users of air traffic services. These charges are published in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes, and are to be paid to Eurocontrol or to National Air Traffic Services Ltd. (NATS), depending on where the flight to which they relate took place. The Eurocontrol route charges system, of which the UK is a member, exempts flights performed by aircraft of which the Maximum Take-Off Weight Authorised is less than two metric tonnes, but provides that flights made under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) shall be subject to charges. Member states of the Eurocontrol route charges system have discretion as to whether to exempt flights made under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and the UK does exempt these flights where they are undertaken by aircraft of which the maximum total weight authorised is 5.7 metric tonnes or less. This has been UK practice for many years.

Local Government Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much was top sliced from funds allocated to the local transport plans for inclusion in the discretionary element of the Single Capital Pot.

Alan Whitehead: The total Transport provision for local authority basic credit approvals (BCAs) for 200203 is 1,064 million. Of this, 5 per cent. (53 million) has been top sliced to form part of the discretionary element of the single capital pot.
	The discretionary element has been allocated to local authorities on the basis of performance following assessment of their plans for transport, housing and education and their capital investment and corporate asset management plans.

Drink Driving

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of (a) the maximum permitted blood alcohol level for driving on public roads and (b) the penalties for breach thereof in each of the 15 EU member states; and what proposals for changes in either (a) or (b) have been made by (i) the Commission affecting all EU member states, (ii) the United Kingdom Government affecting the United Kingdom only and (iii) other national Governments affecting their individual countries.

David Jamieson: The Government have been keeping the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit under consideration but have not made any proposals to change it. The Review of Road Traffic Penalties consultation contained some proposals to increase penalties for drink driving offences but no final decisions have yet been made on these.
	In the European Union three member states in addition to the United Kingdom have a BAC limit of 80mg alcohol per 100ml of blood; these are Luxembourg, Ireland and Italy. We do not have a systematic comparison of anti- drink-driving enforcement measures in other countries. Member states have tended to develop different alcohol detection procedure, penalty regimes and approaches to publicity, education and rehabilitation. These reflect their own national legislation and the capacity of the police and medical authorities in each country to conduct alcohol tests.
	The European Commission adopted a recommendation on 17 January 2001 which proposed harmonisation of the BAC level at 50mg or below, as well as other aspects of control but not penalties. Such a measure is not binding on the member states.
	I am not currently aware of proposals for changes in other member states but some countries have been considering measures such as lower limits for younger drivers.

Planning Applications

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many Article 14 notices have been issued on planning applications before Wandsworth borough council in (a) 1995, (b) 1997, (c) 1998, (d) 1999, (e) 2000 and (f) 2001.

Sally Keeble: I regret that comprehensive information prior to April 1999 is not available. No Article 14 directions were issued to the London borough of Wandsworth between April and December 1999. Three Article 14 directions were issued in 2000 and five were issued in 2001.

Taxis

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to introduce (a) a minimum age for applicants for a taxi driver's licence and (b) a minimum period of years in which an applicant for a taxi driver's licence has to have held a driving licence.

Sally Keeble: In England (outside London) and Wales, the legislation governing taxi licensing does not stipulate a minimum age which applicants must have reached in order to be granted a taxi driver licence. We do not have any plans to introduce a minimum age limit. Such an applicant must, however, have held a full driver licence for at least 12 months.

Landing Slots

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when his Department will announce a determination on the application for a Public Service Obligation protection for the slots used for air services between Inverness and Gatwick.

David Jamieson: We are continuing to analyse the application for a Public Service Obligation (PSO) for the InvernessGatwick route within a more general review of policy on the protection of London airport slots for regional services. We will announce the decision on the PSO application as soon as practicable.

Traffic Wardens

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidance he gives to local authorities on the employment of traffic wardens.

David Jamieson: Local authorities are responsible for the employment and conduct of their staff, including parking attendants whose sole role is to enforce parking restrictions in contrast to police traffic wardens who may undertake other traffic management duties as well. For authorities adopting decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) powers under the Road Traffic Act 1991, Local Authority Circular 1/95 (Welsh Office Circular 26/95) Guidance on Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Outside London includes a section dealing with the duties, conduct and training of parking attendants. The employment by an authority adopting DPE powers of former police traffic wardens is a matter for settlement between the local authority, the police and the employees concerned and will be covered by Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations. Guidance on parking in London is now the responsibility of the Mayor.

Community Strategies

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to require community strategies prepared by local authorities under section 4 of the Local Government Act 2000 to be amended; and which strategies were affected and for what reason;
	(2)  how many community strategies are expected to be prepared by local authorities, pursuant to section 4 of the Local Government Act 2000; and how many have been approved and adopted;
	(3)  what procedures he has set in place for monitoring progress on the completion of community strategies, pursuant to section 4 of the Local Government Act 2000;
	(4)  what plans he has to publish a timetable for the completion by local authorities of their community strategies, pursuant to section 4 of the Local Government Act 2000.

Alan Whitehead: Every principal local authority is under the duty to prepare a community strategy. The Government's statutory guidance on Preparing Community Strategies (DETR December 2000) explains that the timetable for the development of the community strategy and its contents are at the discretion of each local authority in consultation with its partners and local people. Through discussion with the local community, they will be best placed to prioritise local needs and devise the most effective means of delivering them. Accordingly, the Government will not be imposing a timetable for preparing strategies nor do the Government intend to vet them or require councils to amend them. Proposals for a revised Best Value Performance Indicator on community strategies for 200203 were set out in a recent consultation paper Best Value Performance Indicators 200203: ConsultationDTLR November 2001. Local authorities' performance against these indicators are published. The Government will announce their conclusions on the consultation soon.

Multi-Modal Studies

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list by location the number of Multi-Modal Studies commissioned by his Department; and what the anticipated timescale for their completion is.

David Jamieson: A list of the Multi-Modal Studies and when they are expected to report to the respective Regional Planning Bodies are set out in the table.
	
		Tranche 1 contains 11 studies which commenced in 19992000
		
			 Multi-modal study Date expected to report 
		
		
			 Access to Hastings Reported December 2000 Decision announced in July 2001 
			 Cambridge to Huntingdon (A14) Reported 20 August 2001 Decision announced in December 2001 
			 South East Manchester (Stockport, Manchester airport Link West, Poynton) Reported September 2001 
			 West Midlands Area (M5/M6 and M42 between M40 and M6) Reported October 2001 
			 West Midlands to North West (M6) Early 2002 
			 A453 (M1 to J24 (Nottingham) Early 2002 
			 Tyneside Area (A1/A19) Early 2002 
			 South and West Yorkshire Motorway Box (M1 J30 to A1 West Yorks/M18/M62 and A1(M) Early 2002 
			 North/South Movements in East Midlands (M1 Junctions 21 to 30) Spring 2002 
			 London to South West and South Wales (A303, M4) Spring/summer 2002 
			 ORBIT- Transport Solutions around London (M25) Summer/autumn 2002 
		
	
	
		Tranche 2 contains eight studies which commenced in 200001
		
			 Multi-modal study Date expected to report 
		
		
			 Hull (East/West) Corridor (A63 and A1033 to Port of Hull) Spring 2002 
			 A1 (North of Newcastle) Spring 2002 
			 London to Ipswich (A12) Spring 2002 
			 South Coast (Southampton to Folkestone Coastal Corridor)(M27, A27 and A259) Spring/summer 2002 
			 M60 Junction 1218 (West to North Manchester) Summer 2002 
			 London to South Midlands (A1, M1, M11, A5 and A421) Autumn 2002 
			 London to Reading (M4) Autumn 2002 
			 West Midlands to East Midlands (A42/M42 to M6 Corridor and M69 and A38) April 2003 
		
	
	Tranche 3 contain three studies (Norwich to Peterborough (A47)), A34 North from Southampton and A52 Corridor (Clifton Bridge to A1 (Bingham)). We expect these to commence in 200102 and they are expected to report in 2004.

Sub-regional Studies

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list by location the number of sub-regional studies he has authorised; and what the expected timescale is of each of the studies.

Alan Whitehead: This question is broad in scope and therefore covers a very large number of pieces of work, across the whole of the range of the Department's responsibilities. Information on these is not collated centrally.

Nuclear Transportation

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what modes of transport are used to transport radioactive materials; and what is provided for in terms of (a) security and (b) safety.

David Jamieson: Radioactive material is transported by air, sea, rail and road. Such transport is permitted subject to safety regulations which are based upon the standards recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and implemented internationally by the appropriate modal authorities. These standards are reviewed and, when necessary, revised on a regular basis to ensure an acceptable level of control of hazard to persons, property and the environment.
	The security of radioactive material in transport is ensured through a range of measures and checks appropriate to the nature and quantity of material and the mode of transport.

Novice Drivers

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he plans to consult on measures to improve the safety of novice drivers.

David Jamieson: As stated in the Government's Road Safety Strategy Tomorrow's RoadsSafer for Everyone, we want to ensure that new drivers have a broader and more extensive experience of driving conditions before they take the practical driving test. We therefore plan to consult soon on options for improving the safety of novice drivers.

Rail Franchises

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what is his latest estimate of the completion date for the new franchise agreements for (a) Chiltern, (b) South West Trains and (c) South Central.

David Jamieson: It is not generally helpful to speculate about franchise completion dates as this may constrain the Strategic Rail Authority in negotiations with train operators and thus make it more difficult to achieve best value for public money.

Railway Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  what assessment has been made by his Department of the progress made by the Strategic Rail Authority since April 1999 to (a) protect the interests of users of railway services, (b) contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, (c) promote efficiency and economy on the part of persons providing rail services, (d) promote measures to facilitate journeys involving the use of services of more than one passenger service operator, including through ticketing, (e) impose on the operators of railway services the minimum restrictions which are consistent with the performance of the Authority's functions, and (f) enable persons providing railway services to plan the future of their business with a reasonable degree of assurance; if he will place copies of reports published in the Library; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to (i) protect the interests of users of railway services, (ii) contribute to the achievement of sustainable developments, (iii) promote efficiency and economy on the part of persons providing rail services, (iv) promote measures to facilitate journeys involving the use of services of more than one passenger service operator, including through ticketing, (v) impose on the operators of railway services the minimum restrictions which are consistent with the performance of the authority's functions and (vi) enable persons providing railway services to plan the future of their businesses with a reasonable degree of assurance; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to review the performance of the Strategic Rail Authority against the directions and guidance provided by his Department in (i) September 1999 and (ii) July 2001; if he will provide details of the conclusions of the reviews which have taken place; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Railways Act 1993, as amended by the Transport Act 2000, requires the Strategic Rail Authority to make to the Secretary of State an annual report on its activities and the Secretary of State to lay a copy of every such report before Parliament. The Authority's first overall strategy, due to be published on 14 January 2002, will set out its future plans. A corporate plan for 20023 will also be published in due course.
	The Secretary of State may give directions and guidance to the Authority in relation to its strategies and as to the manner in which it is to exercise its functions. A draft was issued for consultation on 29 June 2001. We are currently considering the responses received.

Train Punctuality

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he received between June and December relating to the publication of monthly train punctuality statistics from (a) train operating companies, (b) Railtrack, (c) the Rail Passenger Council, (d) rail passenger committees and (e) others; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: I am not aware of any such representations.

Railways (Overcrowding)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations his Department has received from, and what discussions his Department has had with (a) train operating companies, (b) Railtrack, (c) the Rail Passenger Council, (d) rail passenger committees, (e) the Strategic Rail Authority and (f) others on the measure of overcrowding levels of rail passenger services used by the Strategic Rail Authority; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: This issue was raised in a number of responses to our consultation on draft Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority. We will respond to the consultation in due course.

Rail Delays

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many delays on the rail network there were in the three months (a) before and (b) after the Hatfield crash.

David Jamieson: The figures are contained in the Strategic Rail Authority's National Rail Trends published 13 December.

Automatic Train Protection

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he expects the automatic train protection scheme will come into effect throughout the system.

David Jamieson: The Health and Safety Commission will advise the Government next spring on the recommendations on train protection systems arising from the public inquiry chaired by Lord Cullen and Professor Uff.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many managerial grade employees of Railtrack have tendered their resignation since 7 October.

David Jamieson: My Department does not hold this information. Following the entry of Railtrack plc into administration, staffing is a matter for the administrator. I understand that turnover remains at its normal level.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 13 December 2001, Official Report, column 1015W, what variations in budget have been recorded in management accounts provided by Railtrack under section 8.1.6.(a).

David Jamieson: I am advised that this information is market sensitive.

European Rail Research Advisory Council

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on UK involvement in the European Rail Research Advisory Council.

David Jamieson: The European Commission has established the European Rail Research Advisory Council to improve synergy between European Union national and private rail research, to serve better society's needs, to lead to sustainable transport and to strengthen the competitive leadership of the European rail industry. The first meeting of the council was held in Cologne on 26 November 2001. The United Kingdom's designated member is the Technical Director of the Strategic Rail Authority. In addition, Roger Goodall, Professor of Control Systems, Loughborough University has been nominated as one of the two Council members from academia.

Train Operating Companies

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which senior executives of train operating companies he has held discussions with since 7 October.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend maintains regular contact with representatives of the Train Operating Companies, including the Association of Train Operating Companies.

COTIF

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on UK involvement in COTIF.

David Jamieson: The UK is one of 40 signatory states to COTIFthe convention concerning international carriage by rail. Rail passengers and freight shippers therefore benefit from a uniform set of rules for international rail journeys, including conditions of carriage and compensation in the event of loss or damage. The UK is a member of the Administrative Committee of OTIF (the intergovernmental organisation comprising the COTIF signatory states) for the period 200105.
	A new protocol amending the COTIF convention was agreed by the member states in 1999. This protocol is not yet in force and cannot be until it has been ratified by two thirds of the member states. New primary legislation is needed before the UK can ratify this protocol and we expect to seek these powers in due course.

Rail Safety

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions who has responsibility for ensuring that the gap between platform edge and carriage running board at Lymington Town station is safe.

David Jamieson: Responsibility for the day to day safety, welfare and convenience of passengers using Lymington Town station rests with Railtrack and South West Trains.

Railways (Electrification)

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment his Department has made of the costs of electrifying the rail link between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury.

David Jamieson: No such assessment has been made. Any proposal for investment in infrastructure would need to be justified in terms of economic benefit. The Strategic Rail Authority will set out the priorities for investment in railways in the Strategic Plan it intends to publish on 14 January.

Housing Benefit

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if, under current regulations, business loans from banks or charities preclude people from claiming (a) council tax rebates and (b) housing benefit.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	To ensure equity of treatment between people claiming income-related benefits, all capital is subject to the same rules, regardless of how it has been acquired. No benefit is payable if capital exceeds the higher capital limit, which is currently 16,000 for council tax benefit and housing benefit.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Joint Residence Orders

Mark Hoban: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment she has made of (a) the use and (b) the effectiveness of joint residence orders.

Rosie Winterton: Joint residence orders are rare because, if parents are able to agree a regime of shared care, a court order is unlikely to be necessary. However, in Re: D (Shared Residence Order) 2000 the Court of Appeal decided that, in this case, it was in the child's best interests for the court to recognise the living arrangements brought about by a shared parenting regime. Although no formal assessment has been undertaken, the courts have found that shared residence arrangements can be problematic, especially if parents find it difficult to agree matters between themselves. Shared residence can sometimes be disruptive to children's educational and social development, particularly if parents live some distance apart.

Access of Justice Act

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what has been the saving to public funds so far from the implementation of the Access to Justice Act 1999; and if she will provide a breakdown of that saving.

Rosie Winterton: The Access to Justice Act 1999 brought about reform over a wide range of publicly funded services, amendments to the law of legal aid in Scotland, provision about appeals, courts, judges and court proceedings. The Act also amended the law concerning magistrates and magistrates courts proceedings, and made provision for immunity from action and costs and indemnities for certain officials exercising judicial functions. As such it is not possible to quantify the savings to public funds from its implementation.

Access to Public Records

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, for what reason the Public Record Office has not released files (a) CO 733, vol. 495, (b) CO 926 vol. 2084, (c) FO 492 vol. 11, (d) FO 487 vol. 11, (e) DEFE 7/389, (f) CO 537/3848, (g) CO 537/3851 and (h) CO 537/3854 for public access; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: All the files listed are open to inspection at the Public Record Office except FO 492/11 and FO 487/11, which were not selected for permanent preservation.
	Researchers who require access to records held by the PRO and catalogued as closed, or to historical records held by Departments, should first ask the PRO to check their status. If the records are closed or retained, researchers can apply for a review of access restrictions. They should write to the Departmental Record Officer of the Department that created the records (or its successor) quoting the PRO reference where this is known. Such requests are handled in the order in which they are received except where information is urgently required for legal purposes.

Judge Hutton

Mike Hancock: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, when the report the Lord Chancellor has requested into the halting of a trial presided over by Judge Gabriel Hutton will be produced; if it will be made publicly available; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: An initial report is currently being prepared by officials for the Lord Chancellor's consideration. It brings together statements from a range of people who were present in court at the point when Judge Hutton is alleged to have fallen asleep, including the Judge himself. The Lord Chancellor would not normally publish the contents of such a report. However, he will make public his final decision about the Judge's conduct once he is satisfied that the matter has been fully investigated and he has been able to consider all the relevant facts and considerations.

HEALTH

Research and Development

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many research and development projects will be affected by changes in regional funding for research and development in England;
	(2)  which research and development projects will be affected by changes in regional funding for research and development in the South-west.

John Hutton: Changes made to regional research and development schemes will not affect the current funding of research projects already supported through those schemes. New research projects will continue to be commissioned through the national health service research programmes, which are open to all.

Diabetes

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many new patients have been diagnosed with diabetes in the East Gloucestershire NHS Trust area in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(2)  what has been the cost to the NHS of treatment of diabetes in the East Gloucestershire NHS Trust area in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many diabetic patients have died from heart-related conditions in the East Gloucestershire NHS Trust area in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Waiting Lists

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting in accident and emergency units in the South Cheshire health authority in October (a) 1997 and (b) 2001.

Hazel Blears: It is not possible to record data on patients waiting in accident and emergency units as it is a constantly changing situation. However data are collected on the number of patients admitted via accident and emergency units in South Cheshire health authority, which are shown in the table.
	
		Emergency admissions via AE
		
			   Qtr 2  
			   199798 200102 
		
		
			 Number of patients admitted via AE in Quarter 6,823 8,837 
			 Number of patients admitted to a ward within two hours 6,637 7,697 
			 Number of patients admitted to a ward within two to four hours 167 838 
			 Number of patients not admitted to a ward within four hours 19 302

Waiting Lists

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients 
	(1)  were waiting (a) between 13 and 25 and (b) over 26 weeks for appointments in the Portsmouth Hospital Trust area;
	(2)  were waiting for in-patient treatment in each quarter of (a) 2000 and (b) 2001 in Portsmouth Hospital Trust area.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 December 2001
	In the second quarter (July-September) of 200102, 4,231 patients had been waiting between 1325 weeks and 1,249 had been waiting over 26 weeks for out-patients appointments at Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust. Information on the numbers of patients waiting for in-patient treatment is in the table.
	
		Total number of patients on in-patient waiting list at Portsmouth Hospital/NHS Trust 19992000 to 200102
		
			  Number of waiting list 
		
		
			 19992000  
			 Q1 7,984 
			 Q2 7,771 
			 Q3 8,152 
			 Q4 8,442 
			 200001  
			 Q1 8,957 
			 Q2 8,882 
			 Q3 10,246 
			 Q4 10,307 
			 200102  
			 Q1 11,587 
			 Q2 11,409 
		
	
	Source:
	KH07

Departmental Staff

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees of (a) his Department and (b) agencies sponsored by his Department work in (i) London, (ii) areas benefiting from EU Objective 1 status, (iii) areas with Objective 2 status and (iv) other areas.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 19 November 2001
	Answers to (i) and (iv) for the Department and its agencies are shown in the table.
	
		
			  London Other Total 
		
		
			 (a) Department of Health(14) 1,983 1,652 3,635 
			 (b) Medical Devices Agency 129 8 137 
			 (b) Medical Controls Agency 432 23 455 
			 (b) NHS Estates 20 303 323 
			 (b) NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency 0 292 292 
			 (b) NHS Pension Agency 0 445 445 
			  
			 Total 2,564 2,723 5,287 
		
	
	(14) Excluding agencies
	Source:
	Departmental statistical return to Cabinet Office 1 April 2001
	Answers for (ii) and (iii) cannot be provided. The Department of Health, like other Departments, collects data by Government Official Regions. These are not in the same detailed level as areas for EU Objective 1 and Objective 2.

Food Poisoning (Deaths)

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the annual number of deaths in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the European Union and (c) the United States of America per 100,000 people from food poisoning in the last 12 months.

Hazel Blears: The table sets out the annual number of reported deaths from food poisoning per 100,000 people in the year 2000 for the United Kingdom and for the United States. The United Kingdom figure is based on the annual corrected notifications of deaths attributed to food poisoning organisms reported to the Office for National Statistics in England and Wales and the General Register Offices for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.
	The United States figure is based on deaths reported to the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) within the United States of America.
	Figures for the European Union are not available in the form requested as the data gathering process varies between member states.
	
		Annual number of reported deaths from food poisoning in 2000
		
			 Country Deaths per 100,000 people 
		
		
			 United Kingdom 0.05 
			 United States 0.18 
			 European Union Not available 
		
	
	Notes:
	The UK and USA figures are not directly comparable because of differences in the surveillance systems.
	The figures for both the UK and US underestimate deaths associated with food poisoning. A larger number of deaths are categorised as infectious intestinal disease (IID) and a proportion of these will result from food poisoning. The UK figure for deaths for IID was 0.99 per 100,000 persons in 2000. Comparable figures for IID in the US are not available.
	Sources:
	England and Wales: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
	Scotland: General Register Office Scotland (GROS)
	Northern Ireland: General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI)
	US: Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet)

NHS Dentistry

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average level of remuneration for NHS dentists.

Hazel Blears: Salaried national health service dentists are paid according to set salary scales. Information on individual salaries is not available.
	Dentists providing general dental services (GDS) are remunerated on the basis of fees set out in the statement of dental remuneration. Under their terms of service, GDS dentists are not required to work a set number of hours and information is not collected on the average number of hours they work in the GDS.
	However, a survey carried out by the Office of Manpower Economics in March 2000 provides some limited data on this area. The survey reported:
	the average number of hours worked for single handed dentists at 43.1 hours per week.
	full time practitioners wholly committed to the GDS reported total gross fee earnings averaging 163,900 in the most recently completed financial year. These figures are affected by transfers of payments from associate dentists to practice owners.
	Average net income for all dentists wholly committed to the GDS in the latest 12 months would be about 65,000 after allowing for an average of 2,600 for other payments to dentists, an average expenses ratio for all dental work of 54.1 per cent., subsequent fee increases and the introduction of the dentists' commitment payments scheme.

NHS Dentistry

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of NHS dentists due to retire over the next 10 years.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 December 2001
	A review of the dental workforce is under way and due to report to Ministers in spring 2002.

NHS Dentistry

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the availability of NHS dentistry in Fareham;
	(2)  how many NHS dental practices there were in Fareham in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 December 2001
	One practice in Fareham is currently taking national health service patients. The others have closed their NHS lists temporarily but will be opening them again in the new year. NHS Direct is working closely with the dental access centre in Fareham to ensure patients are able to access NHS treatment.
	The number of dental practices in the Fareham constituency, for the years requested, is not available centrally.

NHS Dentistry

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists are in practice in the town of Workington; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: There are currently 12 dentists, in four practices, in Workington providing full national health service services.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many formal notices his Department has received in the last year from the Parliamentary Ombudsman expressing an intention to carry out an investigation; and in respect of each notice how long it took to respond.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 27 November 2001
	Information on the outcome of statutory investigations which were concluded during 200001 is set out in the Parliamentary Ombudsman's annual report for 200001, copies of which are available in the Library, or on the Parliamentary Ombudsman's website at www.ombudsman.org.uk/pca/document/para01/index.htm. Between 1 April and 31 October, the Department has received two new statutory statement of complaint from the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Replies were sent in 13 and 15 working days.

Salt Consumption

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's policy with regard to the health (a) risks and (b) benefits of salt consumption.

Hazel Blears: Salt is the main source of sodium in the diet. Scientific evidence suggests that sodium is one of the important determinants of blood pressure which is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. National surveys show that the average intake of salt in the United Kingdom is more than twice the amount that is needed on health grounds. 75 per cent. of salt in the diet is obtained from processed foods.
	Our policy is to seek reductions in the salt content of processed foods where it is present beyond technical, safety and palatability needs. Our commitment to working with industry to reduce the salt content of the diet was outlined in Our Healthier Nation (1999) and the NHS Plan (2000). The Department of Health, jointly with the Food Standards Agency, is in discussions with industry about reducing the salt content of these foods.

Prescriptions

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he plans to (a) alter and (b) review the list of exempted conditions for prescription charges.

Hazel Blears: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox) on 6 November 2001, Official Report, column 228W.

Prescriptions

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will request the Prescription Pricing Authority to enable pharmacists to be informed of the specific reasons for transferring individual prescription items from exempt to chargeable groups without requiring them to travel to health authority premises to obtain the information.

Hazel Blears: The monthly payment statement which the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA) sends to community pharmacies provides summary information on the number of prescriptions transferred from exempt to chargeable (and vice versa) and the reason in broad groups. It is not practicable for the PPA to provide routinely details of individual prescriptions switched. Community pharmacists can, however, ring the PPA's helpline to discuss forms that have been switched. In many cases this resolves the problem without any need for the pharmacist to inspect the forms.

Prescriptions

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the fee paid for dispensing NHS prescriptions has been changed; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the change upon the provision of community pharmacy services.

Hazel Blears: The fee paid to pharmacies in England and Wales for dispensing national health service prescriptions has been changed as a consequence of the recent decision to set the Global Sum for 200102 at 806.6 million (an increase of 3.7 per cent. over the previous year). The Global Sum is the amount to be paid to pharmacies overall for the NHS pharmaceutical services they provide each year. The dispensing fee is one of a number of fees and allowances by which the Global Sum is distributed between pharmacies. Such fees are reviewed each time the annual Global Sum is set. Our assessment of the effect of the settlement for this year is that it appropriately remunerates community pharmacies for the service they provide.

Prescriptions

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the most recent review of the prescription system that he has carried out.

Hazel Blears: Pharmacy in the FutureImplementing the NHS Plan, published in September 2000, set out our proposals for changes to the prescription system. These include:
	better access to medicines out of hours;
	the introduction of repeat dispensing, beginning next year;
	the introduction of electronic prescriptions with the vast majority of prescriptions being electronic by 2008;
	schemes across the country by 2004 under which people will get more help from pharmacists in using their medicines, and
	extending prescribing responsibilities to new groups of health professionals.

Prescriptions

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what is the (a) projected percentage volume change in prescriptions to be issued in 200102 and (b) the percentage change in the fee per prescription payable to pharmacy contractors in 200102 after allowing for clawback of payments related to 200001 activity; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to a pharmacy contractor of supplying a prescription.

Hazel Blears: We forecast that the number of national health service prescription items dispensed by community pharmacies in England and Wales in 200102 will be 6 per cent. higher than in 200001.
	The fees paid to pharmacy contractors vary according to the item prescribed. However, the majority of prescriptions attract a basic dispensing fee. From July 1999 to October 2001 that fee was 97.5p. From November 2001 to March 2002 it will be 87.4p. We therefore forecast that the average value of the basic dispensing fees paid to pharmacy contractors for prescriptions dispensed in 200102 will be 93.2p, a reduction of 4.4 per cent. compared with 200001.
	The basic dispensing fee is one of a number of fees and allowances by which the global sum for community pharmacies is distributed between pharmacy contractors. The global sum is the amount to be paid to contractors overall in the year in question. The global sum for 200102 for England and Wales is 806.6 million, an increase of 3.7 per cent. over 200001.
	If remuneration is expressed as the global sum divided by the number of prescription items dispensed, then the remuneration per prescription in 200102 is forecast to be 135.4p, a reduction of 2.2 per cent. compared with 200001.
	Actual payments will be different because there was an overpayment of 8.1 million in respect of 200001, which is to be recovered by reducing this year's payments. Taking that overpayment and recovery into account the actual payment per prescription item for 200102 is forecast to be 134.1p, a reduction of 4 per cent. compared with the actual payment per prescription in 200001.
	While we take information and arguments about pharmacy contractors' costs into account when setting remuneration, we have made no assessment of the cost to a pharmacy contractor of supplying each individual prescription.

Haemoglobinopathies

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people in the Wycombe constituency are affected by (a) sickle cell, (b) thalassaemia and (c) other haemoglobinopathies;
	(2)  what partners in the community and voluntary sector are working with his Department on the neonatal screening programme for haemoglobinopathies in the Wycombe constituency.

Hazel Blears: The Department's hospital episodes statistics provide information on hospital treatment of beta thalassaemia and sickle-cell anaemia with crisis. No other information on haemoglobinopathies, including the information requested on screening, is held centrally.
	Information on the number of finished consultant episodes (FCE) for patients resident in the Wycombe local authority area, treated in national health service hospitals in England during 200001, indicates 90 episodes of beta thalassaemia and seven of sickle-cell anaemia with crisis. Information is not available by constituency area.
	The NHS plan sets out our commitment to introduce by 2004 a new and effective screening programme for women and children including a new national linked antenatal and neonatal programme for haemoglobinopathies. In order to ensure close involvement of voluntary sectors NHS Haemoglobinopathy Steering Group has representatives from the Sickle Cell Society and the United Kingdom Thalassaemia Society. These national support groups have membership at local, national and international level.
	Notes:
	i. An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within the year.
	ii. The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	iii. Figures in this table have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.

Lost Medical Notes

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken to reduce the incidence of patients' medical notes being mislaid.

Hazel Blears: The NHS Plan, Information for Health and Building the Information Core made a clear commitment to providing electronic records for everyone in England, the aim being that, over time, on-line patient records will be accessible by all members of the national health service family such as family doctors, hospitals, NHS Direct, the ambulance service and patients. Electronic records play a crucial role in underpinning modern person based services.
	Information for Health set out a number of local and national targets around the development of electronic records (Electronic Patient Records (EPRs) and Electronic Health Records (EHRs)). The development of organisational based EPRs will ensure all healthcare professionals involved in the provision of care for an individual have secure access to his/her full electronic medical record. This means that data will be entered once and available to all professionals in a format that best suits their practice. The record will minimise repeated collection of the same information, eradicate illegible writing, and most important of all avoid records being misplaced or lost. Similar electronic records are being implemented in primary and community care.
	The successful implementation of EPRs in acute, primary care and social care environments will be a pre-requirement to successful implementation of the first generation EHR by the end of 2005. The EHR will be a summary of the data contained in the numerous organisational-based EPRs (hospitals, primary care, community, etc.).

Cloned Human Embryos

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what techniques are available to distinguish between a blastocyst stage cloned human embryo and a blastocyst stage embryo created by fertilisation in (a) the petri dish, (b) the cryopresentation facility and (c) the womb of a woman.

Hazel Blears: The Department has, in its evidence to the High Court in the judicial review proceedings brought by ProLife Alliance, provided expert evidence that human embryos created by cell nuclear replacement (cloning) would be morphologically and physiologically indistinguishable from those created by fertilisation.

Chiropody

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of chiropody services in Buckinghamshire.

Hazel Blears: Provision of chiropody services in Buckinghamshire is the responsibility of the local health authority.
	The NHS Plan contains the commitment to increase staff in the Allied Health Professions (AHP), including Chiropodists and Podiatrists. 3 million was earmarked this year to modernise AHP education and training programmes. Chiropody and podiatry were among the first group of specialities to addressed.

Deaf Patients

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to ensure that deaf patients who seek treatment with an NHS dentist have access to an interpreter.

Hazel Blears: Provision of interpreter services is commissioned locally through health authorities. To assess the availability of interpreter services, we commissioned a survey 'An Integrated Strategy for Language and Communication Support' in January 2001 and the final report has now been completed. Commissioning of interpreter services will be included in the remit of primary care trusts when they take over the responsibilities of health authorities, and they will be able to draw on the analysis of the national survey when planning communication strategies as part of their health improvement and modernisation programmes.

Fast Food and Drink Machines

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the provision of fast food and drinks machines in school corridors.

Hazel Blears: It is for schools to determine for themselves whether or not there should be any provision for fast food and drinks machines in school corridors. The Department has no authority over what is sold in these machines. It would however encourage all schools to follow healthy eating principles and to ensure consistency of messages within the school about nutrition and food. We are working with the Department for Education and Skills, within the Food in Schools programme, on a number of issues, including vending machines.

Abortion

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on those health authorities which offer a choice between early medical and surgical abortion.

Jacqui Smith: This information is not collected centrally at present. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists clinical guideline Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion recommends that, ideally, abortion services must be able to offer a choice of recommended methods for relevant gestation bands. The sexual health and HIV strategy, which is currently out for consultation, recommends that services should be developed to provide national health service funded abortions in line with the Royal College's recommendations. Following the consultation, we will decide an implementation plan for the Strategy, including the arrangements for monitoring progress towards the new targets and other commitments made by the strategy.

Strategic Health Authorities

Matthew Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the appointment process for the senior positions on the new strategic health authorities was started; and which stages have been completed.

Hazel Blears: A national advertisement for chief executives of the new merged health authorities which will be created in April 2002 (and subject to legislation will become strategic health authorities in October 2002) was placed in September. Following assessment against criteria, individuals have been placed on a national shortlist. No appointments can be made until decisions are made on boundaries and chairs have been appointed. Once chief executives have been appointed, the process of appointment of their senior teams can start.

Strategic Health Authorities

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many shortlists have been drawn up for Chair (designate) and Chief Executive (designate) for the proposed strategic health authorities in England.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 5 December 2001
	Following a process of open competition, a national shortlist of candidates who meet the criteria for new chief executive posts has been drawn up. Following advertisement, the National Health Service Appointments Commission has provisionally identified candidates for each of the geographical areas covered by the proposed health authorities. No appointments will be made until decisions on boundaries have been made. Initially appointments will be to the new larger health authorities which will come into existence in April and will then, subject to legislation, become strategic health authorities in October.

Residential Treatment Courses

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the percentage of dropouts from residential treatment courses in (a) the first week of treatment, (b) the first month of treatment and (c) in subsequent weeks.

Hazel Blears: The periodic information requested is not held centrally. However, the latest report of the National Treatment Outcome Research Study (NTORS) showed that after a year from entering a residential treatment programme over half of the sample of clients was abstinent from all types of illicit opiates.
	NTORS is a research project set up by the Department in 1995 which was established with the aim of gathering information about the treatment outcomes of a large sample of drug misusers who had been through a treatment programme.

Drugs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the calculated weekly cost of drug treatment programmes, using (a) injectable heroin, (b) oral heroin, (c) injectable methadone and (d) oral methadone.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available centrally. However, the table gives all prices for the various methadone and heroin products that appear in the drug tariff and which may be used in drug treatment programmes.
	
		Prices for methadone and diamorphine products used to price prescriptions dispensed in November 2001
		
			   Generic-Drug tariff  
			 Product Pack size Price of pack () Brand Physeptone () 
		
		
			 Methadone hydrochloride BP 2g 9.61  
			 Methadone inj BP 10mg/ml 1ml ampoule 10 8.59 8.58 
			 Methadone inj BP 10mg/ml 1ml ampoule 100  82.16 
			 Methadone inj BP 10mg/ml 2ml ampoule 10 14.5 14.78 
			 Methadone inj BP 10mg/ml 3.5ml ampoule 10 17.83 17.03 
			 Methadone inj BP 10mg/ml 5ml ampoule 10 19.23 18.37 
			 Methadone linctus BP 500ml 5.25  
			 Methadone mixt 1mg/1ml 100ml 1.45 1.45 
			 Methadone mixt 1mg/1ml 50ml 0.73 0.73 
			 Methadone mixt 1mg/1ml 30ml 0.44 0.44 
			 Methadone mixt 1mg/1ml 500ml 7.59 7.25 
			 Methadone mixt 1mg/1ml sugar free 30ml 0.44 0.44 
			 Methadone mixt 1mg/1ml sugar free 50ml 0.73 0.73 
			 Methadone mixt 1mg/1ml sugar free 100ml 1.45 1.45 
			 Methadone mixt 1mg/1ml sugar free 500ml 7.25 7.25 
			 Methadone tab BP 5mg 50 2.97 2.97

Drugs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the use of naltrexone in drug treatment programmes for heroin addicts.

Hazel Blears: The expert group that produced the Department's guidelines Drug misuse and dependenceguidelines on clinical management (1999) reviewed the evidence for the use of naltrexone in drug treatment programmes for heroin addicts. The group concluded that because of the uncomfortable or severe opiate withdrawal symptoms if taken by an individual dependent on an opiate, naltrexone-assisted relapse prevention should be initiated only by specialists and specialised generalists experienced in this technique. More work needs to be undertaken before firm conclusions can be reached regarding how appropriate it is to use naltrexone within a community setting.

Health Bodies

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the (a) membership and (b) remit of the National Co-ordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment.

Hazel Blears: The Department holds a contract with the University of Southampton to provide a National Co-ordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA) which gives expert research management and scientific secretariat support to the health technology assessment (HTA) programme. NCCHTA staff are employed through the University. It has no membership. The membership of the HTA prioritisation and commissioning groups can be found on the NCCHTA website (www.ncchta.org) along with details of its remit and the research management processes employed.

Mixed Sex Wards

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress he has made to eradicate mixed sex wards in the hospitals which serve Stourbridge constituents.

Hazel Blears: We have set three specific objectives to meet our manifesto commitment to eliminate mixed sex accommodation in 95 per cent. of health authorities by the end of 2002:
	1) Ensuring that appropriate organisational arrangements are in place to secure good standards of privacy and dignity for hospital patients;
	2) Achieving fully the Patient's Charter standard for segregating washing and toilet facilities across the NHS; and
	3) Providing safe facilities for patients in hospital who are mentally ill which safeguard their privacy and dignity.
	I am informed that the Dudley Group of Hospitals National Health Service Trust, which serves the majority of Stourbridge constituents, has achieved objectives 1 and 3 and will achieve objective 2 by the end of December 2001.

Accident and Emergency Ambulances/Units

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many accident and emergency ambulances/units are available broken down by (a) county and (b) London boroughs;
	(2)  how many of the total number of accident and emergency ambulances/units are in active service;
	(3)  how many ambulances were in road accidents while on operational duty in (a) 1994, (b) 1995, (c) 1996, (d) 1997, (e) 1998, (f) 1999 and (g) 2000; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many of the available accident and emergency ambulances/units are (a) less than one, (b) one to three, (c) three to five and (d) over five years old; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: There are around 5,500 ambulance vehicles currently in service in the National Health Service. Information on the number of ambulance vehicles broken down by county, London boroughs and age and details of how many ambulance vehicles have been involved in road accidents is not collected centrally by the Department.

London Ambulance Service

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times the London Ambulance Service called on the services of the (a) St. John Ambulance and (b) British Red Cross Society to assist in (i) 1994, (ii) 1995, (iii) 1996, (iv) 1997, (v) 1998, (vi) 1999 and (vii) 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Figures are not held for the number of times the London Ambulance Service have called upon the individual services of St. John's Ambulance and the British Red Cross Society between 1994 and 2000.

London Ambulance Service

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to evaluate the pilot of body armour being conducted by the London Ambulance Service.

Hazel Blears: The pilot of body armour for London Ambulance Service frontline staff was completed during the summer and the results have been evaluated by the national health service trust. The evaluation shows that the majority of staff feel more confident in dealing with volatile incidents when wearing the garments, and that wearing stab vests does not hinder staff's ability to provide clinical care. The London Ambulance Service had pledged to provide stab vests to all frontline staff.

Rural Health Care

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) of 27 November 2001, Official Report, columns 85960W, on the Rural White Paper, how many (a) primary care one-stop or mobile units and (b) intermediate care beds have been made available in 200102; and how many will be made available in each financial year until 2004.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 December 2001
	Data on the number of rural one-stop centres and mobile service units will be collected from next year.
	A recent survey indicates growth of around 1,000 national health service intermediate care beds during the course of this year. Further growth of 1,300 beds is planned in each of the next two years in order to meet the NHS Plan target of an extra 5,000 intermediate care beds by 200304, compared to the 19992000 baseline.

Endometriosis Treatment

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many endometriosis patients from Dorset were referred out of county for laser treatment during the data years (a) 199899 and (b) 199798.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 4 December 2001
	Information from the Health Episode Statistics database shows that no patients from Dorset were referred out of the health authority area for laser treatment for endometriosis in 199899 and 199798.

Endometriosis Treatment

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many endometriosis patients received laser treatment at Princess Anne's Hospital, Southampton during the data years (a) 19992000, (b) 199899 and (c) 199798.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 4 December 2001
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

Accident Victims

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the cost of health care of accident victims other than road accidents in circumstances where the accident is likely to be covered by third party insurance;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the cost of hospital health care of road accident victims since the recoupment scheme commenced;
	(3)  how much has been recovered from insurance companies in respect of repayment of health care costs of road accident victims in each year since the commencement of the recoupment scheme;
	(4)  what plans he has (a) to review the maximum charges recoverable from drivers in respect of road accident victims and (b) to extend the scheme to other types of accident; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: From 5 April 1999 a new system of centralised collection of national health service charges following road traffic accidents was introduced. The system is administered by the Compensation Recovery Unit, (CRU) which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, on behalf of the Department of Health.
	In the first year of operation the CRU recovered and paid NHS trusts in England a total of 26.4 million. The following year (200001) 67 million was recovered for NHS trusts in England. The total amount collected from April to November 2002 is 58.9 million
	There has been no increase in the tariff or ceiling of charges since the scheme commenced nearly three years ago. However the Department is planning to increase the tariff in line with hospital and community health services (HCHS) inflation and increase the ceiling of charges early in the new year. This means that the charge for treatment without admission will rise from 354 to 402 and the daily rate charge for treatment with admission will rise from 435 to 494 per day. In addition the ceiling of charges will rise from 10,000 to 30,000.
	Information on the total cost to the NHS of treating all road traffic accident victims, including those who do not subsequently receive personal injury compensation, is not held centrally.
	In 1999 the Law Commission recommended that the NHS should have the right to recover its costs in all cases where a payment of personal injury compensation was made. The Department is considering the Law Commission's proposal and is currently assessing the cost of treating victims of accidents other than road traffic accidents that are likely to result in personal injury compensation and plans to publish these costs in a public consultation document in the new year.

Patients Forums

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients forums he expects to be created under the NHS Reform Bill.

Hazel Blears: The National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professionals Bill provides for a Patients Forum to be established for every NHS trust and primary care trust.
	We feel that it is important that local patients and users have the ability to directly influence local NHS services.

Dispensing

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to amend arrangements for original pack dispensing to bring England into line with the 1994 EU Directive.

Hazel Blears: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey) on 3 December 2001, Official Report, columns 12526W.

Residential Special School Inspections

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which care standards will be used for welfare inspections in residential special schools operating 52 weeks a year.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 4 December 2001
	The Care Standards Act 2000 provides that when boarding schools (including residential special schools) provide accommodation for more than 295 days a year, then they are required to register as children's homes. Thus, the Children's Homes National Minimum Standards will apply.
	While we cannot change the provision in the Care Standards Act 2000, there are various issues, arising from the recent consultation process, about the suitability of some standards which are to be used in both School and Children's Homes settings. We are conscious of the practical difficulties involved and we are, therefore, reviewing the comments made by respondents and, where appropriate, will revise the standards.

Health Care (Isle of Wight)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients on the Isle of Wight waited over (a) one year and (b) three months for an operation in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999, (iv) 2000 and (v) 2001; and what percentage each figure constituted of the number of operations in each year.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 4 December 2001
	Information on waiting times for all operations (in-patient, day case and out-patients) is not collected centrally. The table shows information on in-patient waiting lists for patients in the Isle of Wight health authority area for each quarter between March 1997 and March 2001 and the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire health authority area for quarters ending June and September 2001.
	
		
			 Quarter Total in-patient waiting list 3+ month waiters Percentage of total waiting list 12+ month waiters Percentage of total waiting list 
		
		
			 Isle of Wight HA  
			 March 1997 4,229 2,585 61.1 277 6.6 
			 June 1997 4,343 2,534 58.3 337 7.8 
			 September 1997 4,289 2,590 60.4 455 10.6 
			 December 1997 4,546 2,657 58.4 428 9.4 
			 March 1998 3,864 2,307 59.7 178 4.6 
			 June 1998 3,844 2,089 54.3 145 3.8 
			 September 1998 3,911 1,884 48.2 116 3.0 
			 December 1998 4,264 2,250 52.8 147 3.4 
			 March 1999 3,552 1,584 44.6 104 2.9 
			 June 1999 3,912 1,724 44.1 130 3.3 
			 September 1999 3,714 1,861 50.1 153 4.1 
			 December 1999 3,670 1,744 47.5 105 2.9 
			 March 2000 3,522 1,703 48.4 143 4.1 
			 June 2000 3,223 1,850 57.4 200 6.2 
			 September 2000 3,372 1,656 49.1 196 5.8 
			 December 2000 3,449 1,822 52.8 155 4.5 
			 March 2001 3,392 1,764 52.0 192 5.7 
			   
			  Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Hampshire HA   
			 June 2001 14,932 7,585 50.8 1,046 7.0 
			 September 2001 14,876 7,761 52.2 977 6.6 
		
	
	Notes:
	In April 2001 Isle of Wight HA (QD4) merged with Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA (QD2) to form Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Hampshire HA (QEV).
	Data for 200102 are therefore presented for Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Hampshire HA (QEV).
	Source:
	QF01 Quarterly Return

GP Vacancies (Isle of Wight)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many unfilled GP posts on the Isle of Wight there were in November (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) 2001; and what proportion each figure represents of GP posts on the island.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 4 December 2001
	The information requested is not available centrally.

New Deal (Young People)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed by the Department under the new deal for young people; and at what cost to public funds.

Hazel Blears: The Department's most recent statistics on new deal staff covered the period 2 July to 1 October. During this period four staff were employed by the Department and its agencies under the new deal for young people at an annual salary cost of 41,300. This excludes any training and development that may have been needed.
	A further four new deal recruits came into the Department through generalist entry routes, costs for these cannot be identified.

External Consultants

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was to his Department of the use of external consultants in each of the last four years.

Hazel Blears: Expenditure by the Department on external consultants is as follows:
	
		 million 
		
			  Cost 
		
		
			 199798 11.848 
			 199899 7.181 
			 19992000 7.991 
			 200001 6.531

Departmental Sickness

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days were lost due to sickness absence in the Department in each of the last four years.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Year Average(15) days lost per employee through sickness (per staff year) 
		
		
			 1997 7.8 
			 1998 (16)9.2 
			 1999 6.6 
			 2000 (17) 
		
	
	(15) Working days absences exclude weekends and bank holidays for staff working a Monday to Friday week.
	(16) Based on pre-audit data and methodology. In 1998 civil service Departments and agencies undertook an audit of their monitoring systems following the Working Well Together report. The reworked figures were not submitted in time for publication of the 1998 report and unadjusted figures were published in this year.
	(17) Not yet published.
	Source:
	Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service BMI Health Services report (1997 Table I, 1998 Table K) and Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service BIOSS report Table H (1999)
	The Department is committed to meeting its Public Service Agreement targets for reducing sickness absence and will be conducting a review of its guidance for both long-term and short-term sickness absence management.

Alpha-1-antitrypsin

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the (a) creation and (b) use of alpha-1-antitrypsin; and what Government research has been conducted into the effect of humans using the compounds.

Hazel Blears: There are two sources of alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) that have been used for therapeutic purposes. Partially purified AAT may be manufactured from pooled human plasma. Recently, AAT has been synthesised with the use of recombinant technology.
	Clinical trials have been undertaken in North America and Europe to evaluate the safety and efficacy of therapy with partially purified human AAT given by intravenous infusion in patients with emphysema.
	More recently clinical trials of partially purified human or recombinant AAT administered by aerosol therapy to the lungs have been undertaken.
	Details of these trials may be found on the websites www.aventisbehring.com/aventisbehring/newsandevents/ alphaclintrial. asp. and www.ppl-therapeutics.com/ Welcome/Products/Product1/bodyproduct1.html.
	There have been several trials in national health service hospitals on various aspects of the use of AAT. Details of projects, completed and ongoing, can be found on the National Research Register, which is available on the internet at http://www.doh.gov.uk/research/nrr.htm.

Medical Staff (Assaults)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults there have been on (a) ambulance staff/paramedics and (b) clinical staff in accident and emergency departments in hospitals in each year since 1997.

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) health service staff working in accident and emergency departments and (b) ambulance staff have suffered (i) verbal and (ii) physical abuse while carrying out their duties in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: Information on the levels of verbal and physical abuse by individual staff group is not collected centrally, but may be held at a local level by national health service employers. Data on violent incidents involving all staff in the NHS were not collected centrally for 199697 or 199798.
	The Department conducted a survey of NHS trusts in England in 199899. The survey found that, on average, seven violent incidents were recorded each month per 1,000 staff. This is equivalent to approximately 65,000 violent incidents against NHS trust staff each year. Details of the survey can be found in Health Service Circular 1999/229: Managing Violence, Accidents and Sickness Absence in the NHS, a copy of which is in the Library.
	Figures for recorded violent incidents in 200001 are currently being analysed by the Department.

Pharmacy Staff

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received concerning the availability of (a) trained pharmacists and (b) other staff within pharmacy.

Hazel Blears: The Department has received a number of representations from organisations with an interest in pharmacy.
	We recognise that, in spite of increasing training places and introducing recruitment and retention initiatives, there have been problems in recruiting pharmacists particularly over the last year. This is a result of the switch from a three to a four-year undergraduate pharmacy course in 1997 and growing demand for pharmacists, particularly in primary care. Skill mix initiatives have increased the demand for other staff within pharmacy leading to shortages in some areas.
	The increases in pharmacy student intakes27 per cent. more new students started training in 2000 than in 1993point to a significant medium term-growth in the pharmacy workforce despite the change to a four-year undergraduate course. Workforce modelling undertaken by the Department suggests that there will be a 12 per cent. increase in the pharmacy workforce across the national health service and private sector between 1998 and 2003.

Food Supplements

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the prospect of securing an extension to the deadline proposed in the forthcoming European Directive on Food Supplements for the submission of detailed safety dossiers to the Scientific Committee for Foods in relation to safe nutrients which are available in the United Kingdom but which are not provided for in the proposed Directive.

Hazel Blears: The Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for negotiating this Directive on behalf of the Government, has been unable to secure an extension of this deadline.

Food Supplements

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what position his Department has taken in relation to amendments to European medicines directives that would require food supplements to be considered to be medicines; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The European Commission sent their proposals to amend the European medicines legislation to the European Parliament and to the Council of Ministers on 26 November 2001, formally launching the legislative process. The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) will be leading for the United Kingdom Government in the forthcoming negotiations on the European Commission's proposals. The MCA is currently considering the implications of the European Commission's proposals, and is consulting other Government Departments with an interest in the proposal to amend Article 2.2 of the Human Medicines Code. The MCA will also be undertaking a wide-ranging public consultation on the proposals in the new year.

Food Supplements

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to meet (a) Consumers of Health Choice, (b) the National Association of Health Stores and (c) the Health Food Manufacturers Association to discuss the implications of the proposed EU Food Supplements Directive for United Kingdom (i) consumers, (ii) retailers and (iii) manufacturers.

Hazel Blears: None. Officials from the Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for negotiating this Directive on the Government's behalf, are in regular contact with all interested parties to discuss progress on and interpretation and implications of the proposed Directive.

Food Supplements

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to ask the European Commission to indicate the way in which it intends to interpret Article 5 of the proposed European Directive on Food Supplements;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the extent to which the forthcoming EU Food Supplements Directive would (a) permit and (b) require the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals at or close to the upper safe level for such nutrients;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the meaning and practical implications of the requirement in Article 5 of the proposed European Directive on Food Supplements to take account of specified factors.

Hazel Blears: Article 5 of the Directive, which lists a number of matters which need to be considered when setting maximum limits, would permit but not require maximum limits to be set at levels close to the upper safe level. Upper safe levels are listed as the first consideration, but it is not clear to what extent other factors, like measures of supposed need, will influence the Commission's proposals. We currently have no plans to press for clarification of this point. The Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for negotiating this Directive on the Government's behalf, has sought clarification without success, and is now concentrating on pressing the Commission to base its proposals on thorough scientific risk assessments, and arguing this case with other member states.

Food Supplements

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed EU Food Supplements Directive on the United Kingdom specialist food supplement (a) market and (b) consumers; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for negotiating this Directive on the Government's behalf, has consulted widely on its likely impact. There would be labelling costs falling on manufacturers of all food supplements, but these would be substantially offset by a two-year transitional period. For the specialist food supplement sector and consumers of these products any additional impact would depend on future developments on lists of permitted nutrients and maximum limits.

Food Supplements

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the timetable for the publication of the proposed (a) draft and (b) final versions of the forthcoming report from the Ad Hoc Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals; what the scope is of that report; and what steps he is planning to take to promote its findings to (i) the European Commission, (ii) the European Union's Scientific Committee for Food and (iii) other member states of the European Union.

Hazel Blears: The risk assessments for vitamins and minerals being undertaken by the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals will be issued for public consultation in early 2002, with a view to publishing the final report in the spring. There is cross-membership between the Expert Group and the Scientific Committee on Food which has already received all papers prepared for consideration by the Expert Group. The European Commission, EU member states and the Scientific Committee on Food will be sent copies of the report at both stages. The final report will inform the United Kingdom position in respect of the EU Directive on Food Supplements.

Food Supplements

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nutrients and (b) nutrient sources would be permitted under the forthcoming European Directive on Food Supplements; what steps he is taking to identify safe nutrients which are available on the United Kingdom market but are not on the lists in the Directive; and how he plans to ensure that United Kingdom (i) manufacturers, (ii) retailers and (iii) consumers may use these nutrients once the Directive is implemented.

Hazel Blears: The Directive lists nutrients and nutrient sources permitted for use in food supplements; the lists currently include 28 nutrients and 112 nutrient sources. We are aware that many nutrients used in the United Kingdom are not on the lists and plan to allow additional substances to be used by all parties during the optional seven year transitional period which was written into the Directive at our request. We have no plans to prepare a list of these substances; manufacturers and retailers are understood to be compiling such lists and co-operating over submission of dossiers supporting addition of these substances to the 'permitted' lists. These substances would then be available for use throughout the European Union.

Food Supplements

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on protecting the existing United Kingdom market in safe higher potency vitamins and minerals in negotiations on the interpretation of Article 5 of the forthcoming proposed European Directive on Food Supplements.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 December 2001
	We oppose any unnecessary restrictions on the range of products available to consumers. We are therefore pressing the European Commission to propose maximum limits for vitamins and minerals in food supplements which are close to the upper safe levels.

A and E Statistics

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients received treatment in the accident and emergency departments of UK hospitals in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: Information on the number of patients receiving treatment in accident and emergency departments is not collected centrally. Quarterly figures for the number of accident and emergency attendances in England for each of the last five years are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Quarter  Year Accident and emergency first attendances 
		
		
			 Q1 199697 3,083,523 
			 Q2 199697 3,210,720 
			 Q3 199697 3,067,462 
			 Q4 199697 2,954,319 
			 Q1 199798 3,226,753 
			 Q2 199798 3,294,802 
			 Q3 199798 3,108,151 
			 Q4 199798 3,036,088 
			 Q1 199899 3,233,468 
			 Q2 199899 3,339,658 
			 Q3 199899 3,133,095 
			 Q4 199899 3,071,753 
			 Q1 19992000 3,281,133 
			 Q2 19992000 3,391,828 
			 Q3 19992000 3,216,036 
			 Q4 19992000 3,140,760 
			 Q1 200001 3,310,133 
			 Q2 200001 3,320,537 
			 Q3 200001 3,181,424 
			 Q4 200001 3,072,924 
			 Q1 200102 3,296,833 
			 Q2 200102 3,340,808 
		
	
	Note:
	Previous years figures have been adjusted to allow direct comparison with 200102 data.
	Source:
	Common Information Core

Dental Access Centre, Kington

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action the Government are taking in relation to progress with the development of the dental access centre in Kington, Herefordshire.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 6 December 2001
	We have made it mandatory for all health authorities to produce a dental action plan to ensure access to national health service dentistry for everyone within the local community.
	The first phase of Herefordshire health authority's dental action plan is complete. This includes the provision of nine dental access centres throughout Herefordshire, including two in Leominster.
	In addition, the development of the new community hospital in Kington will include access to dental services and from the new year dental services will be available to Kington residents, provided from a mobile unit until the new hospital development is complete.

Long-term Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance he has given to community health councils to assist them in advising self-funders in nursing homes of the decision in Coughlan v. North Devon health authority, C.A. 1999;
	(2)  when community health councils were given the information about Coughlan v. North Devon health authority, C.A. 1999 contained in circular HSC 1999/180: LAC (99) 30 of 11 August 1999;
	(3)  if health authorities pass confidential medical information to social services about potential self-funders before any decision accepted by the patient has been taken to withdraw free continuing care;
	(4)  if health authorities obtain the consent in writing of patients to become self-funders before free continuing care as defined by Coughlan v. North Devon health authority is withdrawn;
	(5)  if he will list the health authorities which have sought his Department's advice over applications for refunds made by self-funders since the decision in Coughlan v. North Devon health authority, C.A. 1999.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 10 December 2001
	Guidance regarding continuing care Ex parte Coughlan: Follow up action, Health Service Circular 1999/180: Local Authority Circular (99) 30, was issued on 11 August 1999. Further guidance Continuing Care: NHS and Local Councils' responsibilities HSC 2001/015:LAC (2001)18 was issued on 28 June 2001. Guidance on Free Nursing Care in Nursing Homes HSC 2001/17: LAC(2001)26 was issued on 25 September 2001. Copies of all sets of guidance were sent routinely to community health councils' chief officers. No other guidance or advice has been has been specifically issued to CHCs.
	It is for individual health authorities to ensure that their criteria for continuing national health service health care comply with guidance issued by the Department and to obtain their own legal advice where necessary. Since August 1999, only two health authorities have sought the Department's advice on the issue of 'refunds' for self funders: West Surrey health authority and South Essex health authority.
	The determinations of any individual's requirement for continuing NHS health care or free nursing care are made on the basis of an assessment to determine individual needs. The introduction of free nursing care may lead to the identification of individuals with exceptional health needs who may now qualify for continuing NHS health care.
	Health authorities neither obtain consent in writing, nor do they pass confidential medical information to social services before 'withdrawing' continuing care; it is not envisaged, nor has it ever been brought to the Department's attention, that any health authority has behaved in the way described in the two questions. Once provided, continuing health care should continue to be provided unless and until the individual's healthcare needs change.

Departmental Staff (Home Working)

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to encourage staff to work from home; and how many staff do so on a regular basis.

Hazel Blears: The Department has for some time had a flexible working patterns policy and actively encourages and supports its staff and managers to work flexibly. A range of flexible working patterns including part time working, job sharing and home working is available to staff by arrangement with their management.
	The Department recognises the advantages that home working offers such as retention of valued and skilled staff who have domestic commitments, and a saving on travelling time and costs, and provides appropriate information technology equipment and a supportive personnel and management structure to enable staff to work from home.
	The Department also sponsors a home working staff support group which comprises home workers and their managers.
	As home working is an arrangement that staff and managers make locally we do not centrally record information on the numbers of staff that home work on a regular basis.

NHS Reform and Health Care Profession Bill

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances he will alter the name of a strategic health authority created under the NHS Reform Bill.

John Hutton: Among the circumstances in which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State might consider exercising his powers to change the name of a strategic health authority created under the National Health Service Reform Bill are:
	where the boundary of the strategic health authority changes substantially due to reconfiguration or merger;
	where the name of a coterminous local authority changes; and
	at the request of key local stakeholders.

NHS Reform and Health Care Profession Bill

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what increase in volunteer input he expects to occur as a result of the NHS Reform Bill; what form it will take; and what (a) financial value and (b) financial savings he expects.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 December 2001
	Subject to parliamentary approval, the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Profession Bill will enable us to set up a patients forum in every national health service trust and primary care trust as independent statutory bodies. It is expected that the members of the forums will be volunteers drawn from patients, carers, and from local voluntary organisations. As members of the patients forums, they will represent the views of local communities to trusts about the quality and configuration of health services; monitor the delivery of services from the patients perspective; and inspect every aspect of NHS care from the perspective of the patients experience of the service.
	Voluntary participation in the patients forum is not intended as a means of producing financial savings. The main benefit to the NHS is that local people will be able to make a difference to the services provided and ensure that local services are more responsive to the needs of patients. The volunteers will benefit from knowing that they are making an important and worthwhile contribution to the service; they will also have the opportunity to acquire new skills which may benefit them in their employment or other aspects of their lives.

Nursing Vacancies (Hampshire)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of nursing posts are vacant in the Portsmouth and South-East Hampshire health authority; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The Department of Health Vacancy Survey, March 2001, indicated a three month vacancy rate of 3.4 per cent. That equates to 60 vacant posts across the health authority area. We have introduced a number of initiatives to increase the number of nurses in the national health service, most recently funding for additional nurses in accident and emergency.

Emergency Healthcare

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reform emergency healthcare.

Hazel Blears: On 25 October 2001, we announced the Reforming Emergency Care Strategy which provides the first steps to a new approach to reform emergency care services in the national health service.
	It is supported by 68 million investment, 40 million of which will be used to fund an additional 600 accident and emergency nursing posts, 10 million to pay for local emergency care leaders to properly coordinate emergency care at local level, and an additional 18 million capital investment to begin implementing new rapid assessment systems.
	The Reforming Emergency Care Strategy is available on the internet at www.doh.gov.uk/capacityplanning.

Pharmaceutical Advertising

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on direct pharmaceutical advertising.

Hazel Blears: The Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994, with the Medicines (Monitoring of Advertising) Regulations 1994 (Statutory Instrument 1994/19323, as amended), implement European Directive 92/28/EEC and regulate the advertising of all medicines in the United Kingdom. Medicines classified for supply over-the- counter may be advertised to the public although the regulations prohibit advertisements to the public in respect of certain diseases. Medicines available only on prescription may not be advertised to the public. We support the provision of factual information about medicines to patients and the public within the legal framework, in order to encourage safe and correct use.
	Recent proposals to amend European law relating to the advertising of medicines are being carefully scrutinised. We do not support lifting the prohibition on advertising prescription only medicines to the public.

Teenage Pregnancies

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the extra funding under the Winter Supplementary Estimates to the Supply Estimates 200102 for the Department of Health Teenage Pregnancy Unit is to be spent.

Hazel Blears: Funding totalling 4 million has been allocated through health authorities to support implementation of local teenage pregnancy strategies. Local teenage pregnancy partnerships, which include leads from health and local authority and other relevant agencies, will agree the most effective use of this additional funding.
	A further 1 million is being invested in work at national level to support implementation of both the prevention and support aspects of the teenage pregnancy strategy including the national media campaign for young people.

Cirencester Hospital

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will reply to the petition presented on 13 November from the vendors of the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard regarding Cirencester hospital.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 December 2001
	The level of provision of health services at Cirencester hospital is a matter for the local national health service bodies to determine.

NHS Appointments Commission

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of appointments by the NHS Appointments Commission have been of disabled persons;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of the appointments made by the NHS Appointments Commission came from (a) business, (b) voluntary local organisations, (c) professions and (d) trade unions;
	(3)  how many NHS appointments since the Appointments Commission became responsible have become due; and how many have been made;
	(4)  what percentage of NHS appointments made by the Appointments Commission have gone to (a) women and (b) black and Asian candidates;
	(5)  how many of the people appointed by the NHS Appointments Commission have declared a party political connection; and what parties they are connected with.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 December 2001
	The National Health Service Appointments Commission has been operational since 2 July 2001. Since then it has made 597 appointments, of which 464 related to appointments which had come to an end. The remaining 137 are appointments to new NHS trusts and primary care trusts.
	Of those appointed 45.9 per cent. (274) were women, 9.4 per cent. (56) from the black and minority ethnic communities and 4.2 per cent. (25) declared that they had a disability.
	35.8 per cent. (214) of those appointed had declared political activity. A breakdown is given in the table.
	
		
			  Percentage Number 
		
		
			 Conservative 5 30 
			 Independent 1.5 9 
			 Labour 23.4 140 
			 Liberal Democrat 5.4 32 
			 Other 0.5 3 
		
	
	Details of the information recorded by the NHS Appointments Commission about the primary background of those it has appointed is given in the table.
	
		
			 Background Percentage Number 
		
		
			 Manager and administrator 26.8 160 
			 Other professional 20.3 121 
			 Health professional 3.2 19 
			 Teaching professional 9.7 58 
			 Science and engineering 0.8 5 
			 Associate professional 4.5 27 
			 Clerical and secretarial 0.7 4 
			 Craft and related 0.2 1 
			 Personal and protective 0.5 3 
			 Other 0.2 1 
			 Retired health professional 2.2 13 
			 Retiredother 12.4 74 
			 User/carer/voluntary sector 18.8 112

NHS Appointments Commission

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of the NHS Appointments Commission are (a) women and (b) black or Asian.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 December 2001
	The National Health Service Appointments Commission has four members who are women and none from the black or Asian communities.

NHS Appointments Commission

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Chairman of the NHS Appointments Commission (a) is and (b) has in the past (i) been a member of a political party and (ii) made a party political donation in the last three years.

Hazel Blears: Applicants for posts on national health service boards are asked to declare any political activity in the last five years. Such political activity is defined by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and does not include membership of a political party. It does include information on political donations.
	The chair of the NHS Appointments Commission declared in his application for the post that he had not been politically active, nor had he made any party political donations, in the previous five years.

Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what reports he has received on reactions to over-the-counter drugs containing pseudoephedrine hydrochloride;
	(2)  what plans he has to issue revised guidance to patients from manufacturers on over-the-counter drugs containing pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.

Hazel Blears: Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (a decongestant) has been an ingredient of many over-the- counter (OTC) cold and flu remedies for many decades. There have been 757 suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported to the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) through the yellow card scheme in association with pseudoephrine containing products since 1965.
	The most commonly reported suspected ADRs with pseudoephedrine hydrochloride are allergic reactions (skin rash, facial swelling), cardiovascular reactions (increased or irregular heart rate), psychiatric reactions (depression and hallucinations), difficulty in passing urine, headache, insomnia, nightmares, nausea and vomiting. It is important to note that a report of a suspected ADR does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the drug and underlying conditions or concomitant medications may be implicated.
	Guidance on the use and side effects of medicines is provided to patients in the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) which accompanies the medicine. The Medicines Control Agency and the CSM continually monitor the safety of all medicines to ensure that the product information contains appropriate and up-to-date guidance on safe, correct use at the recommended dose and warnings about side effects.

Viagra

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects NICE to consider Viagra and its availability by NHS prescription.

Hazel Blears: We have no plans to refer impotence treatments, including Viagra, to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. We recently announced that arrangements introduced in 1999 restricting the eligibility for these treatments on the national health service will continue. The extra cost of allowing unrestricted prescribing is likely to involve diversion of funds from other NHS priorities.

Meat Industry

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the UK's progress towards meeting the EU's meat hygiene legislation with particular reference to the levels of (a) veterinary controls and (b) supervisory measures implemented.

Hazel Blears: In 1998, following infraction proceedings against the United Kingdom by the European Commission, we agreed to bring veterinary supervision levels in licensed meat plants in Great Britain into line with the requirements of European Union meat hygiene rules, namely the Fresh Meat (64/433/EEC) and Poultry Meat (71/118/EEC) Directives. It was not possible to secure immediate compliance largely because of a shortage of veterinarians in Great Britain willing to undertake meat hygiene work. The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), which provides veterinary inspection and supervision services in GB on behalf of the Government, therefore had to put in place a concerted and long-term campaign to recruit and train the required additional veterinarians. The aim was to achieve full compliance by 1 April 2001. During the next three years the MHS increased veterinary supervision in plants in a risk-based and staged process with incremental increases being introduced as and when additional veterinary resources became available.
	The MHS was well on course to meet the deadline when the foot and mouth outbreak occurred at the beginning of this year. This led to an unprecedented demand for veterinarians to assist in combating the disease and many practices which had contracted to supply additional resources to the MHS found themselves losing staff to the fight against the epidemic. These losses severely jeopardised the ability of the MHS to ensure full-time Official Veterinarian Surgeon supervision in all full-throughput slaughterhouses by the target date. Even so, the MHS was successful in arranging the required supervision in all but nine of the 305 full-throughput slaughterhouses operating in Great Britain as at 1 April 2001. Since then MHS has continued to introduce full-time supervision where possible, and full compliance was achieved in full-throughput slaughterhouses and cutting premises by November of this year. This achievement is due in no small part to the intensive and successful efforts of the MHS to recruit additional veterinarians.
	The UK authorities have notified the Commission of this position. The extensive, prescriptive and detailed inspection and supervisory measures required by the Directives are enshrined in national legislation, namely the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 (as amended) and the Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 1995 (as amended).

Social Services Tribunals

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has taken advice on the composition and independence of social services tribunals in the light of Beesson v. Dorset county council QB, 30 November; and what plans he has to issue a circular to local authorities on the matter.

Jacqui Smith: As part of the judgment in this case, the court decided that the system used by the council in determining the question of deprivation under regulation 25 of the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 did not comply with article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court held that the system failed because the panel established under the social services complaints procedure did not amount to an independent review of the facts, and because there was no such review, judicial review was not an adequate means of appeal. But the judge made it clear that the statutory scheme was not incompatible with human rights.
	The judge granted leave to appeal on the article 6(1) point. The Department is currently considering making an appeal. We will consider whether revised guidance to local authorities is required.

Pharmacies

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many community pharmacists there were in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) at the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the number of community pharmacists who will leave the profession in the next financial year.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 13 December 2001
	We do not collect information on the number of community pharmacists. However, the number of community pharmacies in England providing NHS pharmaceutical services during the years 1997 to 2001 is shown in the table.
	We do not expect the number of community pharmacies to change significantly in the year ending 31 March 2002.
	
		
			  As at 31 March Number of community pharmacies 
		
		
			 1997 9,775 
			 1998 9,781 
			 1999 9,785 
			 2000 9,775 
			 2001 9,774

Pharmacies

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many small pharmacies have (a) closed and (b) opened in each of the last four years in England.

Hazel Blears: Figures for the number of pharmacies dispensing national health service prescriptions which have opened and closed in the last four years are in the table. We do not collect information on the size of these pharmacies.
	
		
			 Year Number of pharmacies opening Number of pharmacies closing 
		
		
			 199798 46 42 
			 199899 46 51 
			 19992000 23 33 
			 200001 36 37

Pharmacies

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacies dispensing NHS prescriptions there were in Dorset in 1997; and how many there are now.

Hazel Blears: At 31 March 1997 there were 139 pharmacies dispensing national health service prescriptions in Dorset. There are now 136.

Pharmacies

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the price per script paid to NHS pharmacy contractors for the first 1,700 items dispensed each month in (a) 1992, (b) October 2001 and (c) now.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Between January and October 1992, the remuneration paid to pharmacy contractors in England for dispensing the first 1,700 prescriptions each month consisted of a fee of 151.2 pence for each of the first 1,500 prescriptions and 71.5 pence for each of the remainder. In addition, pharmacies were paid an on-cost of 5 per cent. of the basic price of the items dispensed.
	In November and December 1992, the equivalent fee for each of the first 1,700 prescriptions was 159 pence, and the on-cost was 2.5 per cent.
	In October 2001, the fee for each prescription dispensed was 97.5 pence. There was no on-cost, but the large majority of pharmacies dispensing 1,600 or more prescriptions in any month were eligible for a professional allowance of 1,460 per month.
	The equivalent fee is now 87.4 pence. The professional allowance has not changed.
	In each case, these figures exclude fees and allowances paid only for certain types of prescription.

Pharmacies

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that the NHS should pay pharmacy contractors within 30 days of receipt of claims for the supply of drugs; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 17 December 2001
	We have no plans to alter the current timetable for paying pharmacy contractors in England for the national health service prescriptions they dispense.

Medicines Control Agency

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) strengthened warnings, (b) restrictions on the terms of marketing authorisations and (c) revocations of medicines have been issued by the Medicines Control Agency in the current financial year.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 13 December 2001
	In the current financial year (1 April 2001 to 10 December 2001), there have been 1,083 changes to individual sections of the summary of product characteristics to strengthen safety warnings and to restrict the conditions of their use; these relate to 805 licensed medicinal products. Of these, 595 amendments were initiated by the Medicines Control Agency while 488 were initiated by the marketing authorisation holder. In addition, five licences for two nationally authorised products, amfepramone and phentermine, and two products authorised through the European centralised procedure, Trovan and Turvel, have been revoked. Specific details of this large number of regulatory actions can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

999 Emergency Calls

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the change in the number of 999 emergency calls received by each NHS ambulance trust in the latest 12 months for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: Information about the number of emergency calls for all NHS ambulance trusts are contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin Ambulance Services, England 200001. A copy is in the Library and the bulletin is available at www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0115.htm.

Depleted Uranium

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has conducted in the last 10 years into illnesses caused by exposure to depleted uranium; what assessment has been made of the risks to health from exposure to depleted uranium used in munitions and military equipment; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 13 December 2001
	The Department is advised on matters of radiation risk by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB). NRPB has not carried out any research specifically into illnesses caused by exposure to depleted uranium. However, NRPB has carried out research that is relevant to the assessment of the risks to health from such exposures. In particular NRPB has carried out extensive research into the distribution of uranium between body organs, its retention and excretion, following inhalation of a wide range of uranium compounds. It has also developed computer models that enable the concentration of uranium in the various organs and resulting radiation doses to be calculated. Depleted uranium is mildly radioactive, and NRPB's research programme on the effects of ionising radiation in general is therefore relevant to assessment of the radiological risks from exposure to depleted uranium.
	NRPB staff have also contributed to studies of the risks to health from exposure to depleted uranium carried out by working groups set up by the European Commission, the Royal Society, and the World Health Organisation. Reports from each have been published during 2001.
	The Department also knows of four academic groups which have been active in reviewing the risks from depleted uranium; they are the Royal Society Depleted Uranium Working Group, the British Geological Survey, the University of Bristol Department of Earth Sciences and the Southampton Oceanic Centre.

Social Care

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to provide additional financial support for social care for vulnerable people in Somerset; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 13 December 2001
	The Department is planning to provide significant additional financial support for social care for the vulnerable people in Somerset. In 200203, Somerset County Council's social services standard spending assessment is set to increase to just over 77 million, this represents a 5.9 per cent. cash increase over 200102. In addition, they will receive increases in the overall level of the grants paid directly by this Department next year. This follows on from a 5.7 per cent. increase in their total social services resources in 200102.

NHS Charges

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to remove charges on those NHS (a) treatments, (b) services and (c) prescriptions for which a charge is payable by the patient at the point of use;
	(2)  if he will list the NHS (a) treatments, (b) services and (c) prescriptions for which a charge is levied on the patient at the point of use.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 13 December 2001
	A charge is made for dental treatment provided through general or personal dental services, and for some appliances provided to hospital outpatients, to patients who are not exempt from these charges.
	A prescription charge is made for most drugs and listed appliances supplied to outpatients, or in the community, to patients who are not exempt from these charges. 85 per cent. of items are dispensed free of charge.
	A charge is made for wigs and fabric supports supplied to outpatients who are not exempt from these charges.
	Patients who are not residents of the United Kingdom may be asked to pay for some NHS hospital treatment. Full details of the treatments and services subject to such charges are contained in the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended.
	We have no plans to change these arrangements.
	Items which are considered additional to an individual's necessary care plan may be provided for a fee by a national health service trust using its income generation powers. There is no information held centrally on charges made in these circumstances.

Patient Services (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the patient advocacy and liaison services that exist in the Buckingham constituency.

Hazel Blears: There is a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) at the Vale of Aylesbury Primary Care Trust. PALS have also been established at Buckinghamshire Mental Health National Health Service Trust, Milton Keynes General NHS Trust, Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust and South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust.

Homelessness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) targets, (b) guidelines and (c) financial assistance his Department will provide to ensure health authorities under the single assessment process address the risk of homelessness and the health and social care needs of homeless people.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Guidance on the single assessment process sets targets for implementation which will raise the standard of assessment for all older people, wherever they present for treatment or help. There will be no specific targets in the guidance relating to homeless older people, but by providing a more standardised co-ordinated approach it should better address the needs of those who do not have consistent and regular access to health and social care facilities.

NHS Complaints

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been made by NHS patients in Surrey in each of the past five years.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is contained in Handling Complaints: Monitoring the NHS Complaints Procedures statistical report. Copies are available in the Library.

Private Care Homes

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds there were in the private care home sector in Surrey in (a) 1997 and (b) 2001.

Jacqui Smith: The table shows the number of registered beds in voluntary and private sector residential and nursing care homes in Surrey as at 31 March 1997 and 2001.
	
		Private sector care home bedsat 31 March -- Number
		
			 Year Total private sector(18) care beds in the private sector Private sector(18) residential care beds Registered nursing care beds(19) 
		
		
			 1997(20) 8,941 5,547 3,394 
			 2001 10,923 6,111 4,812 
		
	
	(18) Residential places in voluntary, private and small homes (with less than four places), including dual registered homes.
	(19) All registered nursing beds in nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics are in the private sector. Figures shown are for the health authorities of East Surrey and West Surrey.
	(20) Information on nursing beds relates to the period 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997.
	Source:
	Department of Health annual returns

Food Standards Agency

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department was informed (a) that the Food Standards Agency planned to make its statement regarding sodium in bread on 29 November and (b) of the contents of the statement ahead of its release.

Yvette Cooper: The Department was aware that the Food Standards Agency had commissioned the survey on sodium in bread, and received prior notice of the FSA's intention to make a statement and its contents.

Social Services Staff

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of those working in social services hold a listed qualification in (a) the UK and (b) each region.

Jacqui Smith: In England we have not been collecting data about the qualifications of all social services staff on a regular basis. There is an annual social services work force analysis report which has been considering the work force in local councils only.
	The information about staff qualifications in this report has varied from year to year, looking at staff dealing with different client groups each year. The latest published report is for 1999, the report for 2000 will be published in January 2002. A copy of the 1999 report can be found on the Employers Organisation website at: http://www.lg-employers.gov.uk/documents/esru/ sswmain99.pdf.
	The report contains the following data about qualifications:
	
		
			 Description of work undertaken Percentage of staff with a qualification 
		
		
			 Occupational Therapists 98 
			 Community Workers 38 
			   
			 Day centres  
			 Mainly for Elderly People and Elderly Mentally Infirm People(21) 39 
			 Mainly for People under 65 with Physical Disabilities(21) 41 
			 Mainly for Adults with Learning Disabilities(21) 35 
			 Mixed Client Groups(21) 31 
			 Community Homes for Children Looked After(21) 37 
		
	
	(21) The percentage relates to all care staff that are working in that day centre/home
	Data about the social care work force in the independent and voluntary sectors have been obtained through ad-hoc surveys which have concentrated on particular client group areas. However, from this year data will be collected from social care employers in the independent sector as part of the annual social services work force analysis report.
	Information relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the devolved Assemblies.

Agency Nurses

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on agency nursing staff in (a) the UK and (b) each component nation in the last year for which figures are available.

John Hutton: The current provisional figure for expenditure on non-national health service staffing in England in 200001, including the cost of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, is 447 million. It is not possible to identify separately, the cost of agency nursing staff with this total.
	The figures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are matters for the devolved Administrations.

Traditional Medicines Directive

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the adoption of the proposed Traditional Medicines Directive on the future availability of products currently on sale in the UK.

Hazel Blears: The European Commission has indicated that it plans to bring forward formal legislative proposals shortly. Once we receive these proposals we will need to consider them carefully. However, on the basis of an assessment of early informal drafts of the proposals, our provisional view is that a wide range of herbal remedies of the kind currently sold legally under Section 12(2) of the Medicines Act 1968 would continue to be available.

NHS Training

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much it costs to train (a) a nurse and (b) a doctor.

John Hutton: The latest year for which figures are available show that in 200001 the national average estimated cost of training a nurse was 13,000 per annum. These costs are inclusive of tuition, bursary and salary support costs. Most courses are of three years duration.
	In the period between entry to medical school and full registration, it is estimated that training a doctor costs between 200,000 and 250,000. Doctors generally continue training after full registration. As the duration and nature of post-registration training varies greatly and as service and training costs are closely related it is not possible to provide a meaningful estimate of the total cost of training.

Ring-fenced Funds

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds allocated by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies are ring-fenced for specific purposes; and if he will list the allocations of funds involved.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long the Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust will remain in existence; and what will be the cost of (a) consulting on and (b) implementing a change of name.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The trust, to be named North West Surrey Mental Health Partnership Trust from 1 April 2002, will remain in existence for a minimum of one year. Between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003 the new strategic health authority will conduct a review of mental health services across West Surrey and will consult on the proposed changes.
	Information on the costs incurred from the change of name is not available centrally.

National Care Standards Commission

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) health authority and (b) local authority inspection officers there are and how many of them have been matched to area manager positions in the National Care Standards Commission.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The number of inspectors who have been identified as eligible to transfer to the National Care Standards Commission is 1,192, of which 931 are from local authority units and 261 are from health authority units. No inspection officers were matched to area manager positions in the National Care Standards Commission. The area manager position is a new level of post, with no comparable equivalent in local authorities or health authorities. Posts were filled through a competitive recruitment exercise, with applications ringfenced to managers in the current 74 health authority, 123 local authority and 17 joint local and health authority registration and inspection units in England. 161 applications were received: 45 from health authority managers, 107 from local authority managers, and nine from managers of joint units. 15 applicants from health authority units were successful, compared with 54 from local authority units, and seven from joint health/local authority units.

National Care Standards Commission

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) consultation has been undertaken by and (b) formal guidance and information his Department and the National Care Standards Commission have provided to health authorities and local authorities regarding the implementation of arrangements for the transfer of staff to the NCSC.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The Department and the National Care Standards Commission have consulted widely over the summer of 2001 with staff in local authorities and health authorities who are eligible to transfer to the National Care Standards Commission, on the terms and conditions of employment, pay arrangements, and arrangements for assigning transferring staff to posts. Discussions have been held regularly with the trade unions (Royal College of Nursing, Unison, MSF, GMB), who have also consulted their members on proposals. Staff were invited to respond to the consultation exercises through a dedicated staff helpline, attendance at regional roadshows in July, or by correspondence directly to the Department or National Care Standards Commission. All staff eligible to transfer were issued with guidance on the assignment process on 24 August 2001.
	The Department has issued guidance on the transitional arrangements, including movement of staff into National Care Standards Commission offices, in Health Service Circular HSC 2001/011: Local Authority Circular LAC (2001)16 Transition Arrangements for the Creation of the National Care Standards Commission, issued on 15 May 2001.

Re-admissions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 1036W, what the four main medical reasons for re-admission as emergency within 28 days for those over 75 years of age were (a) in numbers re-admitted and (b) as a percentage in (1) Q3 200001, (ii) Q4 200001 and (iii) Q1 200102, by (A) region and (B) health authority.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

Care Home Places

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what exemption in the Ministerial Code on Access to Information he declined to publish the results of the survey of local authorities undertaken by his Department in autumn 2000 to determine the available supply of care home places.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The information related to incomplete statistics, where disclosure could be misleading (exemption 11(a)). The latest complete and validated data on the supply of care home places were published on 29 November in Community Care Statistics 2001: Residential Personal Social Services for Adults, England, copies of which are available in the Library.

NHS University

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to apply for the Royal Charter for the NHS University.

John Hutton: Our aim is to create a university with award granting powers and a Royal Charter, with the same status as existing universities. Before a university can be created and awarded a Royal Charter, the Department for Education and Skills applies very rigorous processes and standards. It is recognised that this will take time. As the institution grows, we believe we can meet the required standards and at such time an application for a Royal Charter will be made.

Kent Ambulance NHS Trust

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will announce the results of the review into the Kent Ambulance NHS Trust.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 4 December 2001
	The decision on the review will be announced shortly.

Haemophilia Drugs

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures he has collated on the price paid in (a) the UK, (b) each other EU country, (c) the USA and (d) Japan for rcFVIII for the treatment of haemophiliacs.

Yvette Cooper: The current average price for a unit of Recombinant Factor 8 in England is approximately 58 pence, including value added tax. The approximate number of units used in the UK is estimated to be 110 million.
	Information is not available regarding other European Union countries, the United States of America or Japan.

Haemophilia Drugs

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many overseas patients in the UK (a) under and (b) over 16 years of age are being treated with rcFVIII products.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not collected centrally.

NHS Staff

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of total NHS spending on personnel expenditure on non-national health service nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff represented in the financial years (a) 199798, (b) 199899, (c) 19992000 and (d) 200001.

John Hutton: The table shows the hospital and community health services expenditure on non-NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff as a percentage of total revenue expenditure on salaries and wages in England, for the financial years 199798 to 200001. The non-NHS staff figures include all nurses, midwives and health visiting staff not directly employed by the NHS. The 200001 figures are the latest available and are provisional.
	
		Analysis of non-NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff expenditure as a percentage of total revenue expenditure on salaries and wages 199798 to 200001
		
			  Non-NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff expenditure () Total revenue expenditure on salaries and wages () Non-NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff expenditure as a percentage of total revenue expenditure on salaries and wages (%) 
		
		
			 199798 216,338,567 16,098,946,553 1.34 
			 199899 272,225,162 17,081,105,039 1.59 
			 19992000 361,656,683 18,708,225,971 1.93 
			 200001 434,390,608 20,481,862,060 2.12 
		
	
	Note:
	200001 data are provisional.
	Sources:
	1. Annual financial returns of NHS trusts, 199798 to 200001
	2. Annual financial returns of health authorities, 199798 to 200001
	3. Annual financial returns of primary care trusts, 200001

British Overseas Territories

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on responsibility for health in British Overseas Territories.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	Health services are the responsibility of all the locally elected Governments in the territories. Some have entered into reciprocal Health Agreements with the United Kingdom for referrals of serious cases where inadequate facilities exist. These are: Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat and St. Helena.

International Recruitment

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who has (a) ministerial and (b) operational responsibility for ensuring the implementation of the Code of Practice for Employers involved in the international recruitment of healthcare professionals; how implementation of the Code is being monitored; who is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Code by NHS trusts; and if he will publish details of (a) NHS trusts and (b) nursing agencies which do not confirm to the Code.

John Hutton: holding answer 19 December 2001
	I have responsibility for international recruitment. I expect all national health service employers to adhere to the code of practice. A director of international recruitment and regional international recruitment co-ordinators have been appointed to work closely with the employers in their area to ensure that they are recruiting within the principles of the code, including how they are working with commercial recruitment agencies.

Nutrition

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations (a) by region and (b) by health authority were (i) cancelled and (ii) re-scheduled due to poor nutritional status of patients in the age ranges (a) 015 years, (b) 1659 years, (c) 6075 years and (d) 75 years over in each quarter of the last five years for which figures are available.

John Hutton: Data on the number of operations cancelled at the last minute and on the number of patients not admitted within one month of their cancellation, by region and health authority, for the time periods requested, are available in the Library.
	Data are not collected on the reasons for last minute cancellations, or on the age range of patients cancelled.

Nutrition

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, columns 68283W, on nutrition, what (a) targets, (b) guidelines and (c) financial assistance he will provide to ensure health authorities address issues of malnutrition under the single assessment process.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 19 December 2001
	Guidance on the single assessment process sets targets for implementation which will raise the standard of assessment for all older people. Nutrition and diet are specified as one of the domains of need that are covered in the overview type of assessment, and which may go on to be explored in more detail in a specialist assessment. It is anticipated that resources for the implementation of the single assessment process will be found within existing budgets.

Nutrition

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department has given to the Department for Education and Skills regarding promoting nutrition in schools.

Yvette Cooper: The Department works closely with the Department for Education and Skills on promoting nutrition in schools, principally through the Food in Schools programme. This aims to bring together all food related initiatives in schools and after-school clubs to improve both health and learning, and ensure consistent messages are being given about health and nutrition.
	In addition, the Healthy Schools Programme is a joint initiative between the Department and the Department for Education and Skills. This includes healthy eating as part of the National Healthy School Standard. To meet the standard schools need to present consistent messages about healthy eating, promote the consumption of healthier foods at lunch and breaktimes and include education on healthy eating in the taught curriculum.

Nutrition

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to increase the number of nutritionists in the NHS.

John Hutton: The Department does not collect data on the number of nutritionists employed in the national health service and has not set a target for increasing the number to be employed.

Nutrition

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, columns 68283W, on nutrition, (a) how many and (b) which of the six key targets under the Better Hospital Food Programme by (i) region and (ii) health authority will be fully delivered by the end of December.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The information available, though not in the precise format requested, is shown in the table.
	The better hospital food programme forms part of the NHS Plan, and is a long-term programme designed to raise standards across the national health service, backed by the provision of an additional 38.5 million over four years. Much has been achieved since the publication of the programme in May 2001. Since hospitals started from different points, some have made faster progress than others, but the NHS has responded positively and will continue to work to implement the better hospital food programme for the benefit of all patients.
	
		Numbers of hospitals in the acute and non-acute sectors, by region where the six elements of the Better Hospital Food programme will be in place by 31 December 2001
		
			  Region  
			 Element South West London Eastern South East Northern and Yorkshire Northwestern Trent West Midlands 
		
		
			 Acute 
			 Number of acute hospitals/region 41 46 35 63 52 46 26 36 
			 Snack boxes 20 25 15 33 28 28 20 20 
			 Ward kitchens 22 24 14 38 31 26 22 24 
			 Move main meal 16 34 7 31 34 24 17 21 
			 Menu format 11 19 5 10 22 16 6 19 
			 Leading chef 16 27 16 21 29 26 18 17 
			 Additional snacks 15 29 19 37 23 26 21 25 
			  
			 Non-acute and PCT 
			 Number of non-acute hospitals/region 117 69 62 105 67 56 62 63 
			 Snack boxes 71 16 31 33 28 27 11 20 
			 Ward kitchens 100 50 53 73 40 38 30 51 
			 Move main meal 51 34 23 23 35 18 22 29 
			 Menu format 56 18 15 45 28 4 20 38 
			 Leading chef 71 35 35 55 45 27 37 33 
			 Additional snacks 89 56 42 70 42 14 55 58 
		
	
	Note:
	Certain non-acute hospitals have been given flexibility to vary the requirements of the programme to reflect the specific needs of elderly mentally ill, adult mental health and learning disabilities clients.

GPs

Julia Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the NHS (General Medical Services) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations (SI No. 3742) and the NHS (General Medical Services Supplementary List) Regulations 2001 (SI No. 3740), whether it is his policy that there should be a requirement on health authorities to provide information to general practitioners to support the allegations being made against them.

John Hutton: holding answer 19 December 2001
	Before a health authority decides to remove a doctor from either the medical or supplementary list under discretionary powers the regulations require it to:
	(i) give the doctor notice in writing of any allegation against him;
	(ii) give the doctor notice of what action the health authority is considering and on what grounds;
	(iii) give him the opportunity to make written representations to the health authority;
	(iv) give him the opportunity to put his case at an oral hearing before the health authority.
	These matters are addressed more fully in advice, prepared in consultation with key stakeholders, including the British Medical Association. This advice was made available to health authorities on 30 November 2001 and explains that the doctor should be sent full details, including any written evidence, of the case against him no less than 14 calendar days prior to the date set for the panel.
	This advice is available on the Department's website.

GPs

Julia Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to Regulation 6(2)(a) of the NHS (General Medical Services Supplementary List) Regulations 2001 (SI No. 3740), whether it is his policy to require a general practitioner, in order to gain access to a health authority's supplementary list, to provide evidence that he or she has performed general medical services for three out of the last six months; and what assessment he has made of whether this would disadvantage doctors who have not worked for three out of six months previously owing to (a) ill health, (b) maternity or paternity leave and (c) other valid reasons.

John Hutton: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The regulations are intended to ensure that general practitioners who work as non-principals (for example, locums, assistants and salaried general practitioners) are picked up by a supplementary list based in the area in which they intend to work. They get onto that list, in part, by either demonstrating that they have worked in the area or by showing that they intend to work in that area. These arrangements are therefore not discriminatory.
	These matters are addressed more fully in advice to the national health service, prepared in consultation with key stakeholders, including the British Medical Association. This advice was made available to health authorities on 30 November 2001 and explains that satisfactory evidence of an intention to work in a particular area could include membership of the local medical committee or a written commitment from the practitioner that he or she intends to work locally coupled with any other matter which links them with the area such as a home within the health authority's area.
	This advice is available on the Department's website.

GPs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs he estimates will be 60 or above in each of the next five years.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Headcount 
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 All Practitioners(22) 31,369 
			 of which aged:  
			 54 822 
			 55 716 
			 56 764 
			 57 606 
			 58 532 
			 59 449 
			  
			 Total aged 54 to 59 3,889 
			   
			 Total aged 60 and over 1,938 
			   
			 All UPEs(23) 27,704 
			 of which aged:  
			 54 802 
			 55 696 
			 56 741 
			 57 585 
			 58 514 
			 59 435 
			  
			 Total aged 54 to 59 3,773 
			   
			 Total aged 60 and over 1,764 
		
	
	(22) Practitioners include UPEs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.
	(23) Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs) includes GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPs.
	Source:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

GPs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham will receive a reply to his letter of 15 November, to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, the hon. Member for Salford (Ms Blears), regarding the exclusion of Worthing from his scheme to incentivise general practitioner recruitment.

John Hutton: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 19 December 2001.

Surgical Instruments

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce standardised, mandatory training for (a) doctors and (b) surgeons in the use of re-usable surgical instruments.

John Hutton: The Specialist Training Authority (STA) of the medical Royal Colleges is the competent authority responsible for specialist medical training within the United Kingdom. Working with the individual medical Royal Colleges, the STA approves the curriculum for training in each specialty.

Hodgkin's Disease

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women suffer from Hodgkin's disease in England.

Yvette Cooper: Recent information on prevalence of Hodgkin's disease is not available. The number of registrations of newly diagnosed cases of Hodgkin's disease in England in 1998 (the latest year for which figures are available) were 675 in males and 512 in females.

Nurses

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many practice nurses are employed by general practitioners in (a) England, (b) West Midlands and (c) the Dudley area.

Yvette Cooper: The data for 2000 are shown in the table. The 2001 census will be published in February 2002.
	
		Practice nurses employed by unrestricted principals and equivalents (PEs)(24) in England and West Midlands regional office as at 30 September 2000
		
			  Headcount 
		
		
			 England 19,200 
			 of which:  
			 West Midlands RO  
			 Birmingham HA 426 
			 Coventry HA 142 
			 Dudley HA 100 
			 Herefordshire HA 67 
			 North Staffordshire HA 196 
			 Sandwell HA 122 
			 Shropshire HA 155 
			 Solihull HA 77 
			 South Staffordshire HA 261 
			 Walsall HA 101 
			 Warwickshire HA 144 
			 Wolverhampton HA 113 
			 Worcestershire HA 200 
			  
			 West Midland total 2,104 
		
	
	(24) UPEs include GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs and PMS salaried GPs.
	Source:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services StatisticsFebruary 2002.

Nurses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses recruited into the NHS in each of the last three years have come from overseas.

John Hutton: The Department's non-medical work force census does not record how many nurses were trained overseas.
	In order to work in the United Kingdom foreign nurses have to be registered with the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC). The UKCC register differentiates between nurses trained in the European Community and those trained elsewhere. Data for the last three years where analysis have been published are in the table.
	Nurses registered with the UKCC do not necessarily work in the NHS.
	
		
			   Year to 31 March 1998 Year to 31 March 1999 Year to 31 March 2000 
		
		
			 EC initial entrants 1,439 1,412 1,416 
			 Overseas initial entrants 2,861 3,568 5,967 
			  
			 Total 4,300 4,980 7,404 
		
	
	Source:
	UKCC statistical analysis of the professional register

Cot Death

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what systems and services are in place to help parents of cot death babies;
	(2)  what services are available for families affected by sudden infant death syndrome;
	(3)  what plans he has to ensure that all post-mortems on cot death babies are conducted by a paediatric pathologist.

Yvette Cooper: Families affected by the tragedy of cot death, also known as sudden infant death syndrome, receive help from a range of health and social care professionals. We are looking at ways in which a uniform approach to offering support, incorporating the best elements of current practice, can be further developed. As a part of this process we have invested 28 million over the last three years to modernise pathology services, also we are committed to increasing the number of pathologists, including those within paediatric pathology.

Delayed Discharges

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds in NHS hospitals in Greater London were occupied by delayed discharge patients at the latest available date.

Jacqui Smith: Information collected in Quarter 2 of 200102 (September 2001) showed a rate of delayed discharge of 6.5 per cent. (proportion of beds occupied by patients whose discharge is delayed) in the London Region.

Delayed Discharges

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent of bed blocking in (a) the south- east and (b) other regions in the United Kingdom.

Jacqui Smith: The table shows the rate of delayed discharge in each national health service region for quarter 2 of 200102:
	
		Delayed discharge rate for all ages per region for Q2 200102
		
			   Percentage 
		
		
			 Northern and Yorkshire 5.6 
			 Trent 3.3 
			 West Midlands 7.7 
			 North-west 4.1 
			 Eastern 7.6 
			 London 6.5 
			 South-east 10.3 
			 South-west 7.1 
		
	
	We are investing an additional 300 million over this year and next as part of a radical 'cash for change' programme. This is aimed at further reducing delayed discharges and targeted on the areas with the most serious problems.

Delayed Discharges

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many delayed discharges there were in the Portsmouth, Isle of Wight and South East Hampshire NHS Trusts in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 11 December 2001
	Information collected centrally on delayed discharges for the years 19972000 in the Isle of Wight health authority and Portsmouth and South East Hampshire health authority areas has been placed in the Library. Information is also available for Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire health authority, which was formed in April 2001.

Delayed Discharges

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 1036W, what the five predominant reasons for delayed discharge of those over 75 years of age were (a) in number of cases for each reason and (b) as a percentage for (i) Q3 200001, (ii) Q4 200001 and (iii) Q1 200002, by (A) region and (B) health authority.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The information requested has been placed in the Library. This does not include information requested on quarter 1 200102 figures for those over 75 years of age, since from April 2001 figures on reasons for delay are only collected on the basis of patients of all ages. The information has been supplied for patients of all ages in quarter 1 200102.

Delayed Discharges

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 1036W, what the average length of delay for those over 75 years of age was in (a) Q3 200001, (b) Q4 200001 and (c) Q1 200102, by (i) region and (ii) health authority.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 19 December 2001
	No information was collected centrally about the length of delay for patients with delayed discharge until the first quarter of 200102. The information on the breakdown in length of delay for patients of all ages in quarter 1 of 200102 has been placed in the Library.

Delayed Discharges

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 1036W, on delayed discharges, if he will set out (a) by region and (b) by health authority the mortality rate for those readmitted over 75 years of age (i) in re-admission and (ii) within 30 days of readmission in (A) Q3 200001, (B) Q4 200001, and (C) Q1 200102.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

Bed Blocking

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the last two years in reducing incidents of bed blocking in the NHS.

Jacqui Smith: In September 1999 the rate of delayed discharge for patients over 75 was 12.8 per cent., while in September 2001 the comparable figure was 12.1 per cent. To increase the reduction further we are investing an additional 300 million over this year and next as part of a radical 'cash for change' programme in England. This is aimed at further reducing delayed discharges and targeted on the areas with the most serious problems.

Chronic Respiratory Disease

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what is the ratio of respiratory specialists in England to people suffering from a chronic respiratory disease;
	(2)  how many respiratory specialists are practising in England.

John Hutton: As at 30 September 2000, there were 950 hospital medical staff within the respiratory medicine speciality in England, of which 440 were consultants.
	Our projections show that there will be an increase of around 150 trained specialists in respiratory medicine available to take up consultant posts by 2004.
	Information is not collected centrally about the number of people suffering from chronic respiratory disease, so we are unable to provide the ratio requested.

HIV/AIDS

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates his Department has made of the number of people in England who will be (a) HIV positive and (b) suffering from AIDS in (i) 2008, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2018.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not available. Estimates of the projected prevalence of diagnosed HIV infection in England and Wales for the next four years are currently being made and will be published in the next few months.

HIV/AIDS

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many (a) men and (b) women in England are HIV positive; and how many were HIV positive in (i) 2000, (ii) 1999, (iii) 1998 and (iv) 1997;
	(2)  how many (a) men and (b) women in England suffer from AIDS; and how many suffered from AIDS in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is shown in the table. The latest complete year's data available are for 2000.
	
		Individuals with diagnosed HIV infection seen for related treatment and care who are resident in England
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 HIV 
			 Male 14,273 13,035 14,389 15,826 
			 Female 3,294 3,266 3,991 5,025 
			  
			 Total(25) 17,639 16,306 18,392 20,855 
			 Adjusted total(26) 20,091 18,931 21,114 23,962 
			  
			 AIDS 
			 Male 3,545 3,830 4,010 4,152 
			 Female 779 842 967 1,138 
			  
			 Total(25) 4,331 4,672 4,977 5,290 
		
	
	(25) Includes reports with sex not known
	(26) The adjusted total allows for estimated under-reporting and the fact that some patients do not attend for care in a given year
	Source:
	Public Health Laboratory Service

Breast Cancer

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the possible use of aromatase inhibitors in the treatment of post-menopausal women suffering from breast cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Aromatase inhibitors (eg Arimidex, Femera) are licensed for use in the United Kingdom for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in post menopausal women and so can be prescribed for use in the national health service for patients who meet the licensed criteria.

Breast Cancer

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the number of men who suffer from breast cancer in England.

Yvette Cooper: Breast cancer in men is very rare. Latest figures indicate 269 men were diagnosed with the disease in 1998.

Waiting Lists

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for the last two months for which figures are available the number of people in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area waiting (a) for hospital treatment and (b) more than 12 months for hospital treatment.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Total number of patients waiting and the number of patients waiting over 12 months for hospital treatment at Mid-Essex Hospital Services national health service trust in October 2001
		
			 Month  Total waiting Number waiting over 12 months 
		
		
			 September 2001 8,968 683 
			 October 2001 8,657 627 
		
	
	Source:
	Monthly waiting list return

Waiting Lists

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area were waiting more than 13 weeks to see a consultant in each of the last two quarters for which figures are available.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Total number of patients waiting 13 weeks or more for an outpatient appointment at Mid-Essex hospital services national health service trust in Quarter 1 200102 and Quarter 2 200102
		
			   Number of patients waiting over 13 weeks 
		
		
			 Quarter 1 2001/02 2,146 
			 Quarter 2 2001/02 2,439 
		
	
	Source:
	QM08 returns

Waiting Lists

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each month since June the number of people in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area waiting up to (a) six, (b) 12, (c) 15 and (d) 18 months for hospital treatment.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		The number of patients waiting more than 18 months, up to 18 months, up to 15 months, and up to 12 months for in-patient treatment at Mid-Essex hospital services national health service trust from June until the latest available monthly figures.
		
			   June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 September 2001 October 2001 
		
		
			 Number waiting less than 18 months for in-patient treatment 8,850 8,898 8,917 8,968 8,657 
			 Number waiting less than 15 months for in-patient treatment 8,674 8,723 8,733 8,828 8,520 
			 Number waiting less than 12 months for in-patient treatment 8,150 8,184 8,202 8,285 8,030 
			 Number waiting less than 6 months for in-patient treatment 5,942 6,001 5,975 6,113 5,997 
		
	
	These data are nationally published data, taken from Regional Offices Data Systems.

Waiting Lists

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for each month since June how many people in Greater London were waiting up to (a) six months, (b) 12, (c) 15 months and (d) 18 months for hospital treatment.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		In-patient data for London regional office (trust based)
		
			   Of those waiting, number who have waited:  
			 Month Total in-patient waiting list Less than six months Less than 12 months Less than 15 months Less than 18 months Greater than 18 months 
		
		
			 June 2001 160,591 114,215 150,431 157,960 160,572 19 
			 July 2001 160,865 115,493 151,134 158,578 160,840 25 
			 August 2001 161,446 115,640 151,772 159,072 161,425 21 
			 September 2001 159,094 113,224 149,597 156,727 159,067 27 
			 October 2001 156,720 114,018 148,275 154,840 156,692 28 
		
	
	Source:
	KH07 quarterly return/monthly waiting times returns

Waiting Lists

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish for the last two quarters for which figures are available the number of people in Greater London waiting more than 13 weeks to see a consultant.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Out-patient data for London regional office (trust based)
		
			  Quarter Number of patients still waiting over 13 weeks 
		
		
			 June 2001 62,575 
			 September 2001 72,193 
		
	
	Note:
	Data are number of patients still waiting over 13 weeks at quarter end for a first out-patient appointment following GP referral
	Source:
	QM08 quarterly return

Surgeons

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what is the estimated number of consultant surgeons needed in the NHS in England by June 2002;
	(2)  how many consultant surgeons he estimates will be practising in the NHS by June 2002;
	(3)  what is the projected figure for the number of consultant surgeons due to finish training by 200910;
	(4)  what is the estimated number of consultant surgeons needed in the NHS in England by 200910.

John Hutton: The NHS Plan sets a target of 7,500 additional consultants by 2004, over the 1999 baseline, needed to deliver the service targets set out in the Plan. The NHS is currently identifying locally what consultants it needs to deliver the NHS Plan by 2004. We anticipate that by 2002 there will be an increase of around 340 trained specialists in the surgical specialties, over the 2000 baseline.
	The Department's demand analysis suggests that by 200910 there could be a need for around 3,000 (headcount) additional consultant surgeons in the NHS in England, over the 2000 baseline. Around a further 1,320 trained specialists are expected to be available to take up surgical consultant posts by 200910, over the 2000 baseline.
	We continually review future requirements for trained specialists as part of the NHS's new multi-disciplinary work force planning processes. These will look at the requirements for doctors alongside other staff focusing on the potential for new ways of working and developing new roles.
	Projections of need will change as modernisation of the work force progresses. Supply projections will also change as numbers in training are varied in response to identified need.

Surgeons

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prospective surgeons are undergoing training in the United Kingdom.

John Hutton: On 30 September 2000, the last available date for which data are currently available, there were 7,740 doctors training in the surgical group of specialties within the national health service.

Surgeons

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the target is for recruitment of new surgeons in England and Wales for each year up to and including 2009.

John Hutton: We do not have targets for the recruitment of consultants in individual specialty groups. The NHS Plan sets a target of 7,500 additional consultants by 2004 over the 1999 baseline, needed to deliver the service targets set out in the Plan.
	When retirements are taken into account, around a further 1,320 trained specialists are expected to be available to take up surgical consultant posts by 2009, over the 2000 baseline.
	We continually review future requirements for trained specialists as part of the national health service's new multi-disciplinary work force planning processes. These will look at the requirements for doctors alongside other staff focusing on the potential for new ways of working and developing new roles.
	Projections of need will change as modernisation of the work force progresses. Supply projections will also change as numbers in training are varied in response to identified need.
	The information relating to Wales is a matter for the devolved Administration.

Dialysis

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England need treatment involving a dialysis machine; and what is the ratio of patients to machines.

Jacqui Smith: Information from the 1998 renal survey, commissioned by the Department, is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Adult patients Stations 
		
		
			 Centre based haemodialysis 7,788 1,890 
			 Home haemodialysis 516 516 
		
	
	The centre-based patients have dialysis on average three times a week.
	In addition there were 5,101 patients receiving peritoneal dialysis, an unknown number of whom use automated peritoneal dialysis delivered by a machine. Furthermore, a number of kidney patients will require post-transplant haemofiltration and other patients admitted with acute renal failure, often associated with major trauma, will also need haemodialysis.

Dialysis

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dialysis machines are operational in England.

Jacqui Smith: The latest information available is from the Renal Survey, commissioned by the Department, which shows that there were 2,406 dialysis stations operational in England at the end of 1998. Of these 1,021 were situated in main renal units, 761 were located in satellite renal units, 516 in patients' homes and there were 108 temporary stations.

Care Homes

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residential and nursing home beds are available in each social service area in England; and how many were available in 1997.

Jacqui Smith: Information on the total number of residential care in 1997 and 2001 is shown by local authority in table 1. Information on the total number of nursing care beds for the same years is shown in table 2.
	
		Table 1: Number of residential care places in England by local authority at 31 March
		
			 Local authority 1997 2001 
		
		
			 England 338,052 341,175 
			
			 Barking and Dagenham 688 618 
			 Barnet 2,124 2,346 
			 Barnsley 1,215 1,758 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1,218 1,267 
			 Bedfordshire(27) 2,923 2,056 
			 Berkshire 3,944 (28) 
			 Bexley 716 914 
			 Birmingham 5,540 5,503 
			 Blackburn with Darwen (28) 1,329 
			 Blackpool (28) 2,068 
			 Bolton 1,171 1,583 
			 Bournemouth (28) 2,520 
			 Bracknell Forest (28) 433 
			 Bradford 3,188 3,183 
			 Brent 762 758 
			 Brighton and Hove (28) 2,195 
			 Bristol 2,582 2,568 
			 Bromley 1,314 1,568 
			 Buckinghamshire 2,438 2,603 
			 Bury 1,582 1,796 
			 Calderdale 1,257 1,207 
			 Cambridgeshire(27) 3,629 2,869 
			 Camden 937 803 
			 Cheshire(27) 5,088 3,827 
			 City of London 0 0 
			 Cornwall 3,441 4,762 
			 Coventry 2,233 1,875 
			 Croydon 1,832 2,065 
			 Cumbria 3,937 3,803 
			 Darlington (28) 813 
			 Derby (28) 1,439 
			 Derbyshire(27) 6,246 4,868 
			 Devon(27) 16,006 8,486 
			 Doncaster 1,882 1,861 
			 Dorset(27) 9,242 3,073 
			 Dudley 1,633 1,914 
			 Durham(27) 4,469 4,269 
			 Ealing 1,316 1,083 
			 East Riding 3,786 4,230 
			 East Sussex(27) 10,774 7,078 
			 Enfield 1,422 1,541 
			 Essex(27) 10,296 8,221 
			 Gateshead 1,405 1,525 
			 Gloucestershire 3,737 4,241 
			 Greenwich 719 613 
			 Hackney 569 616 
			 Halton (28) 830 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 490 336 
			 Hampshire(27) 11,926 7,986 
			 Haringey 1,001 1,003 
			 Harrow 959 864 
			 Hartlepool 652 716 
			 Havering 1,150 1,077 
			 Hereford and Worcester 5,552 (28) 
			 Herefordshire (28) 1,550 
			 Hertfordshire 4,653 (29) 
			 Hillingdon 881 915 
			 Hounslow 584 547 
			 Isle of Wight 2,115 2,010 
			 Isles of Scilly 21 22 
			 Islington 680 484 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 557 357 
			 Kent(27) 16,009 14,597 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 2,382 2,250 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 762 715 
			 Kirklees 2,193 2,488 
			 Knowsley 640 693 
			 Lambeth 1,355 1,031 
			 Lancashire(27) 15,072 11,638 
			 Leeds 3,753 3,951 
			 Leicester (28) 2,370 
			 Leicestershire(27) 5,960 3,995 
			 Lewisham 1,027 948 
			 Lincolnshire 5,049 5,425 
			 Liverpool 1,888 2,693 
			 Luton (28) 863 
			 Manchester 2,493 2,417 
			 Medway Towns (28) 1,331 
			 Merton 620 607 
			 Middlesbrough 808 1,014 
			 Milton Keynes (28) 823 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1,545 1,714 
			 Newham 584 581 
			 Norfolk 7,057 7,476 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1,436 1,469 
			 North Lincolnshire 1,347 1,295 
			 North Somerset 2,232 2,173 
			 North Tyneside 1,771 1,777 
			 North Yorkshire 5,617 5,093 
			 Northamptonshire 4,534 4,387 
			 Northumberland 2,626 2,845 
			 Nottingham (28) 2,022 
			 Nottinghamshire(27) 6,432 5,573 
			 Oldham 1,385 1,466 
			 Oxfordshire 2,832 2,721 
			 Peterborough (28) 709 
			 Plymouth (28) 2,500 
			 Poole (28) 1,049 
			 Portsmouth (28) 1,596 
			 Reading (28) 777 
			 Redbridge 1,024 1,054 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1,173 1,172 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 909 902 
			 Rochdale 1,157 1,304 
			 Rotherham 1,369 1,673 
			 Rutland (28) 275 
			 Salford 1,324 1,290 
			 Sandwell 1,120 1,239 
			 Sefton 3,389 3,132 
			 Sheffield 2,788 3,173 
			 Shropshire(27) 3,085 2,734 
			 Slough (28) 310 
			 Solihull 764 926 
			 Somerset 3,380 4,101 
			 South Gloucestershire 1,224 1,332 
			 South Tyneside 1,282 1,205 
			 Southampton (28) 1,527 
			 Southend (28) 2,059 
			 Southwark 694 701 
			 St. Helens 750 804 
			 Staffordshire(27) 8,202 4,825 
			 Stockport 1,387 1,756 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 961 969 
			 Stoke-on-Trent (28) 1,991 
			 Suffolk 4,355 4,462 
			 Sunderland 1,525 1,878 
			 Surrey 7,305 6,628 
			 Sutton 866 851 
			 Swindon (28) 930 
			 Tameside 1,209 1,195 
			 Telford and Wrekin (28) 697 
			 Thurrock (28) 499 
			 Torbay (28) 2,706 
			 Tower Hamlets 585 468 
			 Trafford 1,002 1,286 
			 Wakefield 1,312 1,940 
			 Walsall 848 1,388 
			 Waltham Forest 1,114 1,261 
			 Wandsworth 1,224 1,156 
			 Warrington (28) 876 
			 Warwickshire 2,741 2,797 
			 West Berkshire (28) 630 
			 West Sussex 8,234 8,247 
			 Westminster 597 559 
			 Wigan 1,456 1,380 
			 Wiltshire 4,513 3,061 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead (28) 596 
			 Wirral 2,748 2,596 
			 Wokingham (28) 805 
			 Wolverhampton 1,327 1,120 
			 Worcestershire (28) 3,530 
			 York 1,218 1,101 
		
	
	(27) Shire authority affected by local government reorganisation
	(28) Not applicableauthority affected by local government reorganisation
	(29) Information not available
	Source:
	Department of Health's annual returns
	
		Table 2: Number of registered nursing care beds in England by health authority at 31 March
		
			 Health authority 1997(30) 2001 
		
		
			 England 197,514 186,828 
			
			 Avon 4,877 5,125 
			 Barking and Havering 647 1,015 
			 Barnet 1,031 935 
			 Barnsley 1,049 792 
			 Bedfordshire 998 1,520 
			 Berkshire 2,007 1,879 
			 Bexley and Greenwich 558 867 
			 Birmingham 2,966 2,889 
			 Bradford 3,230 3,765 
			 Brent and Harrow 906 1,405 
			 Bromley 1,094 995 
			 Buckinghamshire 1,735 1,951 
			 Bury and Rochdale 2,276 1,647 
			 Calderdale and Kirklees 2,389 2,472 
			 Cambridge 1,063 2,042 
			 Camden and Islington 265 457 
			 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 2,710 3,180 
			 County Durham 4,207 3,251 
			 Coventry 542 630 
			 Croydon 1,004 1,013 
			 Doncaster 971 807 
			 Dorset 3,656 3,086 
			 Dudley 1,045 1,236 
			 Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 789 1,250 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 1,526 1,184 
			 East Kent 2,412 1,892 
			 East Lancashire 3,003 1,957 
			 East London and The City 635 855 
			 East Riding 1,856 1,577 
			 East Surrey 2,244 2,617 
			 East Sussex, Brighton and Hove 4,628 4,368 
			 Enfield and Haringey 904 1,129 
			 Gateshead and South Tyneside 1,462 1,363 
			 Gloucestershire 4,047 3,064 
			 Herefordshire 532 695 
			 Hillingdon 455 489 
			 Isle of Wight 457 356 
			 Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster 1,582 1,578 
			 Kingston and Richmond 929 842 
			 Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 1,592 1,925 
			 Leeds 2,321 2,469 
			 Leicestershire 2,463 1,623 
			 Lincolnshire 4,129 3,185 
			 Liverpool 2,734 2,991 
			 Manchester 2,169 1,721 
			 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 2,243 2,540 
			 Morecambe Bay 1,051 1,138 
			 Newcastle and North Tyneside 1,749 1,696 
			 Norfolk 2,110 2,959 
			 North and East Devon 2,617 2,020 
			 North and Mid Hampshire 1,586 1,731 
			 North Cheshire 1,445 1,467 
			 North Cumbria 919 831 
			 North Derbyshire 2,101 1,937 
			 North Essex 2,590 2,133 
			 North Nottinghamshire 2,118 1,781 
			 North Staffordshire 1,743 1,921 
			 North West Anglia(31) 3,280 (32) 
			 North West Lancashire 2,864 2,515 
			 North Yorkshire 4,782 4,352 
			 Northamptonshire 1,502 2,334 
			 Northumberland 831 993 
			 Nottingham 3,389 2,857 
			 Oxfordshire 1,516 1,686 
			 Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 1,708 1,689 
			 Redbridge and Waltham Forest 723 789 
			 Rotherham 1,212 1,124 
			 Salford and Trafford 1,996 1,762 
			 Sandwell 995 909 
			 Sefton 2,408 2,113 
			 Sheffield 2,207 2,705 
			 Shropshire 1,916 1,877 
			 Solihull 433 330 
			 Somerset 2,626 2,580 
			 South and West Devon 3,413 2,961 
			 South Cheshire 4,049 4,003 
			 South Derbyshire 2,582 2,327 
			 South Essex 1,998 1,314 
			 South Humberside 1,357 940 
			 South Lancashire 1,779 1,713 
			 South Staffordshire 3,694 3,300 
			 Southampton and South West Hampshire 1,658 1,720 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley 1,473 1,259 
			 Stockport 1,212 1,010 
			 Suffolk 2,293 2,142 
			 Sunderland 1,837 1,243 
			 Tees 2,998 2,662 
			 Wakefield 955 1,110 
			 Walsall 602 714 
			 Warwickshire 1,833 1,855 
			 West Hertfordshire 1,068 1,476 
			 West Kent 2,975 2,976 
			 West Pennine 1,622 1,445 
			 West Surrey 2,586 2,195 
			 West Sussex 4,703 3,941 
			 Wigan and Bolton 1,615 1,714 
			 Wiltshire 2,234 2,057 
			 Wirral 2,915 2,211 
			 Wolverhampton 797 1,012 
			 Worcestershire 2,511 2,670 
		
	
	(30) Relates to the period 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997.
	(31) As a result of health authority reorganisation, North West Anglia was split with Cambridge and Huntingdon becoming part of Cambridge HA and East Norfolk becoming part of Norfolk HA.
	(32) Not available
	Source:
	Department of Health's annual returns

Care Homes

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates his Department has made of the number of people who have had to sell their homes to pay for long-term care in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Care Homes

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of time is that an individual stays in (a) a residential care and (b) a nursing home in England.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Care Homes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who drafted the guidance under the Care Standards Act 2000 dealing with accommodation for residents of residential care homes.

Jacqui Smith: The National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People and Care Homes for Younger Adults and Adult Placements were drafted by the Department. To aid the drafting of these standards, reference groups were set up which included representatives from the private, public and voluntary sectors, national organisations and service users. Both sets of standards were consulted upon publicly and we have listened to the representations made during consultation and made appropriate changes. No guidance under the Care Standards Act 2000, in relation to the accommodation of service users in care homes, has been drafted.

Care Homes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received from local authority care homes concerning the Care Standards Act 2000; and if he will list them broken down by authority.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not hold information in the form requested. Representations about the effect of Government policy on local authority run care homes are generally made by local authorities as part of the comments they make in their role as regulators, providers and commissioners of social care. Local authorities have been involved in the development of our modernisation agenda, particularly in the development of national minimum standards where they were one of the groups consulted before and during the various consultation exercises on the national standards. The formal consultation documents were sent to all local authorities.

Osteoporosis

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many (a) men and (b) women in England suffer from osteoporosis;
	(2)  how many women in England suffer from osteoperia.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not available. Individuals will generally not be aware of the presence of these conditions. It has been estimated that one in three women and one in 12 men over age 50 have osteoporosis.

Age-related Macular Degeneration

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people in England suffer from age-related macular degeneration;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the possibility of using genetic engineering to restore vision to those suffering from age-related macular degeneration.

Jacqui Smith: It has recently been estimated that in the United Kingdom some 180,000 people suffer sight loss due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is possible that gene therapy may indeed one day be used to halt or even prevent AMD. The results of a number of pre-clinical research studies have been published, and these studies do look promising. However, it is too early to say for certain whether these specific approaches will ultimately lead to cures for patients with AMD.
	Here in the UK, before moving into clinic to test such approaches in human subjects, the approval of our national supervisory body, the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) would be required. GTAC would base their decision as to the acceptability of any such trial on the medical and scientific merits of the research proposed and carefully weighing the potential benefits and risks to patients.

Epilepsy Patients

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of epilepsy patients are photosensitive.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally. However, scientific research suggests that up to 5 per cent. of people with epilepsy are photosensitive.

Child Death Helpline

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls were made to the Child Death Helpline in 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Health Care Funding

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding for health care per patient there is in the parliamentary constituencies of (a) Sedgefield, (b) West Chelmsford, (c) South West Surrey and (d) North West Hampshire.

John Hutton: Health authorities receive allocations to commission healthcare for their population. The health authorities for these parliamentary constituencies, and their allocations per weighted head of population in 200102, are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency Health authority 200102(33) () 
		
		
			 Sedgfield County Durham 730 
			 West Chelmsford North Essex 728 
			 South west Surrey West Surrey 749 
			 North west Hampshire North and mid Hampshire 736 
		
	
	(33) Allocation per weighted head of population

Diabetes

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received concerning the Diabetes National Service Framework; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: We have received just over 300 letters about the Diabetes National Service Framework since 15 October when we announced the changed plans for its publication. The Diabetes NSF standards were published on 14 December and have been widely welcomed.

Doctor Numbers

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the ratio of doctors to people in England.

John Hutton: The data requested are shown in the table.
	
		
			 England at 30 September 2000 Numbers Numbers per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 All NHS doctors 97,440 194.9 
			 of which   
			 All GMPs (including GP Retainers)(34) 31,370 62.7 
			 All HCHS Staff(35) 66,070 132.1 
			 of which   
			 Consultants 24,310 48.6 
		
	
	(34) General Medical Practitioners (including GP Retainers) includes Unrestricted Principals, PMS Salaried GPs, PMS Contracted GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), and PMS Others.
	(35) Excludes Medical Hospital Practitioners and Medical Clinical Assistants, most of whom are also General Practitioners working part-time in hospitals.
	Notes:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Unrounded figures were used in all calculations.
	These are NHS doctors only. These figures do not show private practice doctors or doctors that are registered but not working.
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many episodes of in-patient care were purchased by the NHS in the independent mental health sector in (a) 199798, (b) 19992000, (c) 200001 and (d) this financial year to date.

Jacqui Smith: Information is not collected centrally on the number of episodes of in-patient care purchased by the national health service in the independent mental health sector.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his estimate is of the (a) number and (b) proportion of people who suffer schizophrenia (i) at any one time, (ii) during the course of the most recent year for which figures are available and (iii) during their lifetimes;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of (a) the general population and (b) the adult population with severe and enduring mental health problems;
	(3)  what proportion of those suffering (a) a disabling anxiety disorder, (b) clinical depression, (c) manic depression and (d) schizophrenia were (i) men and (ii) women, in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(4)  what his estimate is of the (a) number and (b) proportion of people who suffer manic depression (i) at any one time, (ii) during the course of the most recent year for which figures are available and (iii) during their lifetimes;
	(5)  what his assessment is of the proportion of people who will develop (a) a disabling anxiety disorder, (b) a phobia and (c) an obsessive compulsive disorder during their lives;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the prevalence of (a) psychosis, (b) psychiatric illness and (c) neurotic disorders among adults living in private households.

Jacqui Smith: The Office for National Statistics is responsible for compiling, analysing and disseminating information relating to United Kingdom economic, social and demographic statistics. Their report 'Psychiatric morbidity among adults living in private households, 2000' is available on the website at www.statistics.gov.uk. Along with others due for publication next year, the report contains valuable information about the prevalence of mental disorders among adults in private households.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what number and proportion of the (a) general and (b) adult population presented with mental health problems to the NHS in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The Office for National Statistics is the Government agency responsible for compiling, analysing and disseminating information relating to estimates of numbers in the general population with mental health problems, and the proportion using specific services. Their recent report Psychiatric morbidity among adults living in private households, 2000 is available on the website at www.statistics.gov.uk

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the proposed Children's National Service Framework with regard to mental health services for children and young persons.

Jacqui Smith: One of the specific areas to be addressed in the Children's National Service Framework is child and adolescent mental health services. Detailed work to develop this strand of the service framework will take place in an external working group under the chairmanship of Mike Farrar, chief executive of Tees health authority, and Dr. Caroline Lindsey, consultant psychiatrist at the Tavistock clinic. The first meeting of the external working group is scheduled for January.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health of those discharged from hospital in the most recent year for which figures are available after treatment for alcohol and drug related problems, what proportions of (a) men and (b) women were diagnosed as suffering from (i) disabling anxiety disorder, (ii) clinical depression, (iii) manic depression and (iv) schizophrenia.

Jacqui Smith: The information is not collected centrally by the Department, in the form requested.
	The table shows the estimated number of finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorder due to psychoactive substance use, in England, for 19992000, the latest year for which data are available. These figures have a provisional status as no adjustments have yet been made for shortfalls in data.
	
		Finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of psychoactive substances (excluding tobacco), broken down by sex, England, 19992000
		
			 Mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of psychoactive substances F10-F19 (excluding F17, tobacco)  Persons  Male  Female 
		
		
			 Total F10-F19 (excluding F17) 42,600 29,360 12,940 
			 
			 Alcohol (F10) 33,160 22,740 10,190 
			 Opioids (F11) 4,300 2,900 1,380 
			 Cannabinoids (F12) 630 490 140 
			 Sedatives or hypnotics (F13) 250 130 120 
			 Cocaine (F14) 170 140 40 
			 Other stimulants including caffeine (F15) 640 440 190 
			 Hallucinogens (F16) 210 140 60 
			 Volatile solvents (F18) 70 60 10 
			 Multiple drug use and use of other psychoactive substances (F19) 3,160 2,320 820 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Persons category includes 'Unknown' and 'not specified' sex categories.
	2. Data for 19992000 have not been grossed for coverage and have a provisional status.
	3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 for confidentiality purposes.
	4. Figures may not add up due to rounding.
	5. Codes have been taken from the 'International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems' Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
	6. Of the 42,600 episodes detailed above 2,340 have a primary diagnosis of psychotic disorder.
	7. The diagnosis of psychotic disorder includes a cluster of psychotic phenomena that occur during or following psychoactive substance use but that are not explained on the basis of acute intoxication alone and do not form part of a withdrawal state. The disorder is characterised by hallucinations, perceptual distortions, delusions, psychomotor disturbances, and an abnormal affect, which may range from intense fear to ecstasy.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) number and (b) proportion of people who are homeless have a diagnosis of psychosis.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not available centrally.

Eating Disorders

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions there were in (a) 1997 and (b) in the most recent year for which figures are available in respect of eating disorders.

Jacqui Smith: In 199798 there were 1,990 admissions for people with eating disorders and 1,780 in 19992000. The data are taken from hospital episode statistics and relate to in-patients who have finished their hospital episodes under the care of a consultant. The 19992000 figures are provisional as no adjustments have been made for shortfalls in the data.

Eating Disorders

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the number and proportion of (a) men and (b) women who suffer eating disorders; and how many have suffered from such disorders during their lifetimes.

Jacqui Smith: Information on the number of people with eating disorders is not collected centrally by the Department.

Tilt Report

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which recommendations in the Tilt report have been implemented.

Jacqui Smith: The position regarding the implementation of the recommendations in the Report of the Review of Security at the High Security Hospitals (the Tilt report) is set out in the tables at Annex A, which have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Hepatitis C

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are receiving the combination treatment, ribovarin plus alpha-interferon, for hepatitis C in the United Kingdom.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Stroke Treatment

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what action he is taking to ensure that stroke patients, regardless of age, have access to specialist stroke teams and are able to participate in a multidisciplinary programme of rehabilitation;
	(2)  how he will ensure that younger people who suffer strokes receive the support they need to promote independence; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what action he is taking to ensure that the standard for stroke care, published in the National Service Framework for Older People, will apply to stroke patients of all ages.

Jacqui Smith: The Stroke Standard in the National Service Framework for Older People, the service model it details for integrated stroke services and the milestones for action it sets should apply equally to all stroke patients, irrespective of age. Integrated stroke services will need to cover or link to prevention, acute care, rehabilitation and long-term support for stroke patients and their carers. April 2002 is the milestone for every general hospital which cares for people with stroke to have plans to introduce a specialised stroke service from 2004.

NHS (Racism)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures the Government have taken to tackle racism in the NHS.

John Hutton: We are fully committed to diversity and equality of opportunity for all health service staff and patients and we are taking vigorous action to achieve this. There is no place for discrimination or harassment in the national health service on grounds of race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or age.
	The Improving Working Lives (IWL) Standard establishes targets and measures for promoting real improvements in the working lives of NHS staff. It makes it clear that every member of staff is entitled to work in an organisation which can prove that it is investing in, and improving, diversity and tackling discrimination and harassment.
	Activity to achieve this aim is occurring on a number of fronts. We have launched an equalities framework ('The Vital Connection') which incorporates clear requirements for the NHS in promoting equality and introduces a package of indicators, standards and monitoring arrangements to support progress and manage performance as part of human resources performance management. It includes specific measures on race and harassment.
	In addition, the 'Positively Diverse' programme is developing the knowledge and capacity of NHS organisations to build and manage a diverse workforce. It provides the process for achieving the equalities-related aspects of IWL and the targets set by the Equalities Framework and supports NHS organisations in meeting the workforce challenges set by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
	The programme is, at present, being extended to another 200 organisations. Work is also in hand to develop a mentoring and coaching scheme for black and minority ethnic staff; a trainers pack for working with race and racism and a personal work programme for examining individual attitudes towards race and culture. In addition, new guidance, aligned with the 'Zero Tolerance' campaign, on dealing with harassment from service users has been developed and will be launched in March.

Locums

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many locums are working in NHS facilities in England and Wales.
	(2)  how many locums secured substantive employment in the UK in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

John Hutton: Data for locums are not collected centrally.

European Health Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the European average for health spending as a percentage of GDP was in 1998, excluding the UK, (a) weighted and (b) unweighted.

John Hutton: The latest figures for the weighted and the unweighted European average for 1998 excluding the United Kingdom are shown in the table:
	
		
			 European average (excluding UK) 1998 
		
		
			 Unweighted spend as percentage of Gross Domestic Product 8.0 
			 Weighted spend as percentage of Gross Domestic Product 8.8 
		
	
	Source:
	OECD Health Data 2001

European Health Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to visit European countries to view their health services in 2002.

Alan Milburn: I plan to visit Spain, and will visit other countries as appropriate.

NHS Modernisation Agency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often the NHS Modernisation Agency meets; and when the last meeting took place.

John Hutton: The NHS Modernisation Agency is a directorate of the Department of Health. Its Director, David Fillingham, is a member of the Department's board, which meets fortnightly. The Modernisation Agency's management team meets every month.

NHS Modernisation Agency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the head of the NHS Modernisation Agency.

John Hutton: My right hon. Friend meets David Fillingham, the director of the Modernisation Agency, on a regular basis. They last met just before the Christmas break.

NHS Modernisation Agency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been appointed to the NHS Modernisation Agency; and at what remuneration level.

John Hutton: The National Health Service Modernisation Agency was formed in April 2001 through the merger of six pre-existing teams. Since April, 119 clinicians and managers have been appointed to the agency. Eighty-seven are on fixed term/secondment from the NHS and 19 have been appointed to the civil service. The total staff of the agency is 323 (NHS staff 250, Department of Health employees 73).
	Of the total staffing profile of the agency, 13 per cent. are senior manager or clinician level (50,000 per annum plus), 51 per cent. are programme manager level (30,000 to 50,000 per annum) and 37 per cent. are support staff (below 30,000 per annum).

Hospital Cleaners

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to vet hospital cleaners for criminal records.

John Hutton: All national health service workers are asked to declare criminal convictions as part of the recruitment process. Currently checks are made against police records for all posts involving substantial unsupervised access to children. From 1 March the commencement of the Criminal Records Bureau disclosure service will allow checks to be made on a much wider range of posts including hospital cleaners who have access to patients in the normal course of their work.

Children's Homes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) local authority and (b) private children's homes have been (i) opened and (ii) closed in each year since 1997 in (A) England and (B) west Sussex.

Jacqui Smith: Table 1 shows the number of local authority and private children's homes (excluding independent boarding schools) at 31 March 1997 and 31 March 2000. Separate information on the number of homes (a) opened and (b) closed is available only for the years ending 31 March 1999 and 2000. Figures for England are shown in table 2. There was one new registration of a private children's home in west Sussex in 1999 and no closures in either 1999 or 2000.
	
		Table 1: Numbers of local authority and private children's homes (excluding independent boarding schools)at 31 March
		
			  England West Sussex 
		
		
			 1997   
			 Local authority children's homes 838 13 
			 Private children's homes 283 4 
			
			 2000   
			 Local authority children's homes 721 11 
			 Private children's homes 310 3 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health statistical return CH1
	
		Table 2: Number of children's homes opened and closed in Englandyear ending 31 March
		
			  Number of: 
			  New registrations Establishment closures 
		
		
			 1999   
			 Local authority children's homes 5 30 
			 Private children's homes 30 10 
			
			 2000   
			 Local authority children's homes 10 30 
			 Private children's homes 40 10 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health Registration and Inspection Survey

Private Sector Operations

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the operation of the concordat between the NHS and the private sector in the last year;
	(2)  under the concordat operating between the NHS and the private sector, how many operations have taken place to date, broken down by (a) type and (b) average cost; and which private facilities have been used under the concordat with the NHS.

John Hutton: The concordat has encouraged better use of spare capacity in the independent sector, which has allowed national health service patients to be treated more quickly.
	According to data collected from independent healthcare providers by the Independent Healthcare Association, since November 2000 at least 75,000 patients have been treated in the independent sector, paid for by the NHS. This figure includes out-patient appointments, day cases and in-patient treatment. A breakdown by type of operation will shortly be placed in the Library. The IHA does not collect cost information.
	The Department has recently surveyed health authorities and trusts on the amount of activity they are purchasing for NHS patients within the private sector and will make available key results in due course. The Department is also currently reviewing its information needs as far as NHS-funded activity in the private sector is concerned.
	The challenge remains to put NHS use of private sector capacity on a planned footing. Some health authorities and primary care trusts have made particular progress on this front, but overall the picture is still generally one of spot purchasing.
	The Department has recently announced a five point plan for expanding the role of non-NHS providers in the NHS, including up to 40 million for NHS-funded operations this winter, a national contract framework between the NHS and the private sector, inviting private companies to build and run diagnostic and treatment centres, dedicating existing private hospitals to NHS work and using overseas providers.

Private Sector Operations

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which private facilities have been used under the concordat with the NHS.

John Hutton: Arrangements between the national health service and the independent sector under the concordat for the treatment of NHS patients are made locally. This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Paramedics

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paramedics were employed in 2001 in (a) London and (b) West Sussex.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): ambulance paramedics within the London Regional Office, South East Regional Office areas and East Sussex, Brighton and Hove health authority area as at 30 September 2000
		
			   Whole-time equivalents Headcount 
		
		
			 London Regional Office Area 780 780 
			 South East Regional Office Area 1,050 1,060 
			 Of which   
			 West Sussex HA230 230 
			 East Sussex, Brighton and Hove HA(36) 
		
	
	(36) East Sussex, Brighton and Hove HA provide ambulance staff for the whole of Sussex, therefore, staff working within the West Sussex HA area cannot be separately identified.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
	Source:
	Department of Health non-medical workforce census

Paramedics

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paramedics retired from the service in 2001 (a) in England, (b) from the London ambulance service and (c) from the Sussex ambulance service.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

CT/MRI Scanners

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) CT and (b) MRI scanners are in working use in the NHS.

Yvette Cooper: There are approximately 285 CT scanners and approximately 190 MRI scanners in working use in the national health service in England, as of December 2001.
	By 2004, central programmes will provide a further 69 additional CT and 72 additional MRI scanners for the NHS in England, as well as over 130 replacement CT and MRI scanners.

NHS Chief Executive

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Chief Executive of the NHS.

Alan Milburn: I meet Nigel Crisp, the Chief Executive, on a regular basis.

District and Community Nurses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district and community nurses there are in England and Wales, and how many there were in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Qualified nursing staff working within the community areas of work in England and Wales as at 30 September each year
		
			  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 All staffwhole-time equivalents 48,930 49,430 50,810 52,080 53,530 
			 of which:  
			 Health Visitors 10,780 10,670 10,710 10,810 10,640 
			 District Nurses 12,860 12,490 12,410 12,390 12,310 
			 Other community nursing 25,290 26,270 27,680 28,890 30,590 
			 of which:  
			 Community psychiatric 9,230 9,560 10,000 10,260 10,860 
			 Community learning difficulties 3,000 3,130 3,210 3,410 3,550 
			 Community services 13,070 13,580 14,470 15,210 16,180 
			   
			 All staffheadcount 61,250 62,870 65,340 67,220 69,660 
			 of which:  
			 Health Visitors 13,160 13,220 13,420 13,620 13,570 
			 District Nurses 15,800 15,740 15,600 15,640 15,850 
			 Other community nursing 32,290 33,910 36,320 37,970 40,240 
			 of which:  
			 Community psychiatric 9,870 10,320 10,800 11,140 11,800 
			 Community learning difficulties 3,320 3,440 3,590 3,770 3,990 
			 Community services 19,100 20,140 21,930 23,050 24,440 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Figures exclude learners and agency staff.
	3. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
	Sources:
	Department of Health non-medical work force census
	NHS Staff CensusNational Assembly for Wales

Hospital Star Rating Scheme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what choices for alternative treatment locations there are for patients whose local hospital has been given zero stars under the Government's hospital star rating scheme.

John Hutton: We have made it clear that the ratings are not primarily about the quality of clinical care. They do not mean that a poorly performing hospital has low standards, is unsafe or does not contain some very good clinical services. Staff are often doing a good job but the assessments show that organisational performance does need to improve.
	Our new proposals on patient choice mean that from July 2002, if a patient with coronary heart disease has been on an in-patient waiting list for over six months, they will be able to seek swifter treatment in either the private sector, in another European Union country or in a different national health service hospital. This option is available regardless of a trust's performance rating and will be extended across England throughout 200203.

Autism Awareness Year

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures the Government are proposing to help promote autism awareness year.

Jacqui Smith: We welcome initiatives which aim to improve our knowledge and understanding of autism. Autism awareness year is seeking to raise awareness, through voluntary sector partnerships, of the issues surrounding autism and to influence and inspire action to facilitate the changes needed to services and attitudes to autism. I was delighted to accept an invitation to speak at an autism awareness year conference to be held on 14 February.
	We will listen carefully to the messages which emerge from this and other current and recently completed initiatives in this field. These include the independent National Initiative on Autism: Screening and Assessment and the two reports commissioned by the Department of Healthfrom Dr. Tony Holland on Asperger's Syndrome and from the Medical Research Council on the epidemiology and causes of autism.

Pathology Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many private providers of pathology services have renewed their contracts with the NHS since 1994;
	(2)  if he will list private providers of pathology services under contract to the NHS.

John Hutton: The national health service has for many years worked closely with private sector providers of pathology equipment, consumables, IT and transport. There are no centrally held statistical data on these arrangements.
	Two private sector companies are currently known to have contracts to provide laboratory medicine services to the national health service. These are Quest Diagnostics Ltd. at West Middlesex NHS Trust and The Doctors Laboratory at Ealing NHS Trust. Both of these are still in operation. Omnilabs had a contract at the Lister Hospital, Stevenage but this has recently expired.

York Formula

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to review the York formula calculation for regional health funding.

John Hutton: A wide ranging review of the weighted capitation formula used to allocate resources to health authorities and primary care trusts is currently taking place. The aim is to produce a fairer means of allocating resources. A key criterion of the new formula will be to contribute to the reduction of avoidable health inequalities.

Student Doctors

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students (a) completed degree courses in medicine and (b) carried on to work as doctors/ surgeons in the NHS in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

John Hutton: 3,980 students completed first degree courses in medicine in 19992000 in England. In the same year the NHS in England employed 3,540 pre-registration house officersthe first NHS job that new medical graduates take up.
	Graduates from medical courses do not all go on to become NHS doctors though the vast majority will spend part of their careers working in the NHS. Some choose to use their skills by working in the research, industrial or charity sectors. Some of those from outside England return home following graduation.

European Hospitals

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his proposals are for payment of travel costs for NHS patients receiving treatment in continental European hospitals.

John Hutton: Regulations have been laid before the House to amend the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 1988 to permit NHS bodies to pay for the travel of NHS patients going overseas for treatment funded by the NHS. The NHS will meet the cost of the patient's travel from the point at which they begin their international journey (the airport, ferry port or international train station) to the foreign provider. Reimbursement of travel expenses between the patient's home to the airport, ferry port of international train station will be governed by the same rules that currently apply to payment of travelling expenses to hospitals in England. This change will ensure that patients treated overseas under the auspices of the NHS will not be disadvantaged by having to travel further for that treatment.

European Hospitals

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role will be played by GPs in the selection of European hospitals to be used for the treatment of their patients under the NHS.

John Hutton: The hospitals to be used for national health service patients in the three test bed sites in the south east region are being selected by local commissioners, with clinical input. A practising GP has also been involved in providing input to the development of the three projects. There will be a competitive tender exercise in the new year to select approved foreign providers; again, clinicians will be involved in the selection of the final list of approved providers.

Fly Sprays

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on the use of chemicals in fly spray products linked to cancer.

Yvette Cooper: The Department has commissioned no research on the use of chemicals in fly spray products. All such pesticide products have to be approved by Ministers before they can be sold and used in the United Kingdom. It is the responsibility of industry to provide the data necessary to demonstrate fully the safety and efficacy of their products before approval can be granted. The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides advises Ministers on these matters.

DDVP

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the safety of DDVP in relation to liver, skin and breast cancer; and what guidelines his Department has issued on the safe use of DDVPs in consumer products.

Yvette Cooper: All pesticide products for use in agriculture and in the home have to be approved by Ministers before they can be sold and used in the United Kingdom. The products should always be used in accordance with label instructions specified as part of the approval.
	The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) advises Ministers on pesticide issues. A review of the safety of DDVP in non-agricultural pesticide products was carried out in 1994: the ACP concluded the chemical did not pose a carcinogenic risk to humans. A review of DDVP in pesticide products is currently being carried out, including a review of all data relating to possible mutagenicity and carcinogenicity, and I expect the ACP to make recommendations to Ministers concerning approval of these products early this year.

Ultrasound Scanning

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department has received about the possible effect of ultrasound scanning on brain damage in babies.

Yvette Cooper: The Department has not received advice about the recent study from Stockholm which concludes that ultrasound exposure in fetal life increases the risk of left handedness in males. We would look to outside bodies such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Medical Ultrasound Society to assess the scientific validity of any research. The antenatal sub-group of the United Kingdom National Screening Committee keeps under review any safety issues relating to screening tests.

Interbalkan European Medical Centre

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements have been made with the Interbalkan European medical centre in Thessaloniki for treatment of NHS patients; what discussions have taken place between his officials and the centre; and what visits have been made by his officials to the centre.

John Hutton: A number of European health care providers have written to the Department expressing interest in providing treatment for UK patients. Exploratory discussions have taken place with several organisations, including the Interbalkan medical centre. However, no agreement has been reached with the Interbalkan medical centre, nor have officials visited it.

National Service Frameworks

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list which national service frameworks are planned for 2002; and when in that year.

Jacqui Smith: Work is in hand to publish the Diabetes National Service Framework (NSF) Delivery Strategy; the first module of the Renal NSF; and the first module of the Childrens' NSF. The precise publication dates are not fixed at this stage as in selecting a topic for and developing and implementing a national service framework, account is not only taken of the importance of a health issue in terms of morbidity and mortality and the scope for service improvement but also of the capacity of the national health service and its partner agencies to implement the framework.

NHS Leadership Centre

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the head of the national health service leadership centre.

John Hutton: Barbara Harris stood down from her post as Director of the Leadership Centre on 14 December. The post is currently being filled on a temporary basis and will be advertised in due course.

Children's Hospital Schools

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to support children's hospital schools for the hospitalised (a) over 16s and (b) children who are too ill to return home; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	Local education authorities (LEAs) have a duty to provide suitable education for children of compulsory school age who cannot attend school due to illness or injury. This includes those children who are in hospital. The DfES jointly with the Department of Health published in November this year new statutory guidance Access to education for children and young people with medical needs which sets out minimum national standards for the education of children who are unable to attend school because of medical needs.
	(a) Local education authorities (LEAs) also have the power to provide suitable education for young people over compulsory school age but under the age of 19 who cannot attend school because of illness or injury. The new guidance makes it clear that LEAs are expected to be as helpful as possible to these vulnerable young people.
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has a duty to secure the provision of proper facilities for the education and training of 16 to 19-year-olds including those who may miss out on education due to prolonged illness. The council will work with local agencies, including social services departments, local education authorities (LEAs) and hospital schools, where packages of care and learning appear the best approach.
	The Connexions Service will provide integrated information, advice, guidance and personal development opportunities for all young people aged 1319 in England. Part of their service includes giving more in-depth support to those who are at greatest risk of not making a successful transition to adulthood.
	(b) The new guidance also makes it clear that all children of compulsory school age have an entitlement to education and that they should have as much education as their medical condition allows. This includes those children in hospitals who may have terminal or recurring conditions and who may be unable to return home.

Infant Mortality (Burton)

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the infant mortality rate in Burton was in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Mrs. Dean, dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking what the infant mortality rate in Burton was in each of the last 10 years. I am replying in his absence (24073).
	The figures requested are given in the table below.
	
		Infant mortality numbers and rates for Burton, 19912000
		
			 Calendar year Number of infant deaths Rate(37) 
		
		
			 1991 15 10.8 
			 1992 14 10.1 
			 1993 14 10.7 
			 1994 10 8.2 
			 1995 12 9.5 
			 1996 4 3.4 
			 1997 2 1.7 
			 1998 3 2.6 
			 1999 6 5.2 
			 2000(38) 8 6.8 
		
	
	(37) Per 1,000 live births
	(38) Provisional
	Source:
	Registrations of births and deaths

Colon Cancer

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average survival rate was for cancer of the colon in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Tim Loughton, dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what is the survival rate for cancer of the colon. I am replying in his absence. (24313)
	The latest available five year relative survival rates from cancer of the colon in England, for cases (aged 1599) diagnosed in the period 19921994 and followed up to the end of 1999, are 42.6% in men and 42.1% in women (Source: Office for National Statistics 'One and five year relative survival (%) [by sex and age group] for patients diagnosed during 199193 and 199294, major cancer sites, England').

WORK AND PENSIONS

Long-term Unemployment

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect the new deal has had on long-term unemployment.

Nick Brown: The positive effect of the new deal is confirmed by independent research carried out by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. This found that, in the absence of new deal, long-term youth unemployment would be about twice as high as it now is.
	The number of 18 to 24-year-olds unemployed for six months or more has fallen by over 70 per cent. in the last four years. Some of this improvement reflects the delivery of a strong and stable economy, but the new deal has helped unemployment to fall even faster. The number of people of all ages unemployed for six months or more fell by 50 per cent. over the same period.

Long-term Unemployment

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his statement of 28 November, what plans he has 
	(1)  for the long-term unemployed to be employed in the national health service;
	(2)  for the Government to employ the long-term unemployed under his proposals.

Nick Brown: The intention is to offer participants a range of jobs from which to choose. Many employment placements will be with locally based intermediate labour market operators working mainly in the public and community sectors. Work in these areas will generally be of community benefit but in jobs which would otherwise not be economically viable. It is also hoped that the scheme will attract other employers. Clearly the range of jobs available will depend on the local labour market, but it is hoped that this will include opportunities in both the private and public sectors. Government Departments and the NHS will not be under any obligation to offer jobs to participants but will be free to do so.

South Tyneside

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department gives to those in South Tyneside with disabilities who cannot work.

Maria Eagle: We are giving people on benefits more choices and more help than ever before to move off welfare and into work, in return for greater responsibility to consider the help that is on offer. We recognise that some people will not be able to take advantage of initiatives to help them support themselves through work, so we are extending our support for them to ensure greater security.
	In April 2001 we introduced the Disability Income Guarantee (DIG). DIG provides an extra premium, paid with income related benefits, to severely disabled people on the lowest incomes. Nationally, we expect that DIG will help around 130,000 of the poorest severely disabled people under 60, and around 30,000 families with severely disabled children.
	Incapacity benefit helps people who satisfy the National Insurance contribution conditions and cannot be expected to work due to sickness or disability. In South Tyneside, which is composed of the parliamentary constituencies of South Shields and Jarrow, around 10,800 people are receiving incapacity benefit.
	Income support is also available to help those disabled people who are unable to work. In South Tyneside 5,600 people are receiving income support with either a disability premium or a severe disability premium. We have also increased the disabled child premium in the income related benefits by substantially more than the normal uprating. Since 1997 we have increased this from 20.95 to 30.00, and from April 2002 it will increase to 35.50. There are 400 families in South Tyneside receiving the disabled child premium.
	Disability living allowance helps those severely disabled people under the age of 65 with extra costs due to the effects of their disability and provides extra help for those disabled early in life. In South Tyneside 9,218 people receive disability living allowance. Attendance allowance helps disabled people over the age of 65 with extra care costs due to the effects of their disability. In South Tyneside 4,067 people receive attendance allowance.

Benefits (Belgium)

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he last met his Belgian counterpart.

Alistair Darling: I met Frank Vandenbroucke, Minister for Social Affairs and Pensions, and Laurette Onkelinx, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Employment, at the Employment and Social Policy Council on 3 December.

Housing Benefit

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the extent of delays in the payment of housing benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Our housing policy statement Quality and Choice: A decent home for allThe way forward for housing (December 2000) recognised that the fundamental challenge facing housing benefit is its administration. Problems with administering housing benefit can result in unacceptable levels of fraud and error, as well as backlogs of delayed claims.
	Our immediate priority has therefore been to work in partnership with local authorities to improve standards of administration. For example, we have established the Help Team which offers practical advice and support to local authorities on ways to improve delivery. The team has already visited Hull, Lambeth, Bristol, Northampton, Derwentside and East Ayrshire. We have also set up a Help Fund to enable local authorities to formulate and implement improvement plans. In addition, we will introduce national performance standards to support the better administration of housing benefit from spring 2002.

Housing Benefit

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to increase funding for the Verification Framework.

Malcolm Wicks: There will be a 5 per cent. increase in Verification Framework funding from 1 April 2002. This applies to both set-up and on-going funding and is double the increase for 200102.

Housing Benefit

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the Verification Framework for Housing Benefit.

Malcolm Wicks: The Verification Framework is designed to secure the gateway on to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit by defining the minimum standards for collecting evidence before a claim can be paid. As at 30 November 2001, 263 authorities have applied for or received funds to adopt the Framework. Of those 263 there are 240 authorities who are now fully compliant with the scheme.
	We continue to keep the Verification Framework under regular review. During the summer we worked in partnership with local authorities on proposals to simplify the Framework.
	From April 2002 we will split the Verification Framework into three modules which can be introduced in stages. This, combined with other smaller administrative easements, will make it easier for local authorities to introduce and administer the Framework while maintaining a rigorous approach to preventing fraud and error.

Housing Benefit

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local authorities are achieving the claim processing times for Housing Benefit that were in existence prior to the implementation of the Verification Framework.

Malcolm Wicks: Prior to the introduction of Best Value Performance Indicators in April 2000, information was not collected from local authorities on the length of time taken to process Housing Benefit claims. Under Best Value, information on average processing times is collected from English local authorities by the Audit Commission on behalf of the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR). Final performance figures for 200001 will be published by DTLR early in 2002.
	Performance indicators for Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of the Accounts Commission for Scotland and the National Assembly for Wales respectively.

Housing Benefit

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of the Verification Framework on the number of claims being made for Housing Benefit.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 1997 there has been a year on year reduction in the number of people claiming Housing Benefit. It is not possible to determine how much of this reduction, if any, is due to the introduction of the Verification Framework. The fall can be attributed to a variety of factors including lower unemployment, demographic changes and our initiatives to secure the gateway on to Housing Benefit. The Department is currently carrying out an assessment of the impact of the Verification Framework which may provide more information as to its impact on Housing Benefit caseloads.

Housing Benefit

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to make the measures entitled Do Not Redirect in the Verification Framework compulsory.

Malcolm Wicks: The Verification Framework and the Royal Mail Do Not Redirect schemes are not at present compulsory. However, we are monitoring closely take-up of these schemes and we would not rule out this option, should take-up prove to be unsatisfactory over time.

Housing Benefit

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for housing benefit are waiting to be processed as a result of delays caused by the verification framework.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available.

Benefit Errors

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the expected reduction in the monetary value of error (a) in income support and (b) jobseekers allowance in 200102.

Malcolm Wicks: We have set firm targets for reducing the amount of fraud and error in income support and jobseeker's allowance. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics on 29 November 2001 show that we have met our first milestone of a 10 per cent. reduction by March 2002 almost twice over. We are currently on track for meeting the targets for 2004 (25 per cent.) and 2006 (50 per cent.).
	Information for 200102 will be available later next year.

Benefit Fraud

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the cost of benefit fraud in each of the last four years.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Govan (Mr. Sarwar) on 30 November 2001, Official Report, column 1166W.

Benefit Fraud

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the constituency of Buckingham were successfully prosecuted for (a) housing and (b) council tax benefit fraud in each year since 1992.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Epsom and Ewell constituency were successfully prosecuted for housing benefit fraud in each year since 1992.

Malcolm Wicks: Information on prosecutions for housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud is not available at constituency level.

Benefit Fraud

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in South Tyneside were caught involved in benefit fraud in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001.

Malcolm Wicks: Figures for South Tyneside are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Benefit Fraud

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the units in his Department or its agencies whose primary function is (a) counter fraud policy work and (b) fraud investigation and detection.

Malcolm Wicks: We set out our strategy for tackling fraud and error in the paperA New Contract for Welfare: Safeguarding Social Security (CM 4276)published on 23 March 1999. The overall aim of the strategy is to have a benefit system which is secure from first claim to final payment.
	The implementation of this strategy means that an anti-fraud focus is integral to the work of the whole Department, as is dealing with the wider agenda of error and incorrectness in benefit payments. However, there are specific units whose primary function is counter-fraud policy work and fraud investigation and detection.
	The Fraud Strategy Unit manages the setting and dissemination of fraud policy for the Department's Agencies. In addition the Fraud Head of Profession (through the Professional Standards Unit) sets standards for operational activity and manages guidance and training for investigators in the Department's Agencies.
	There are 14 groups of investigators in the Department. Serious and organised fraud is addressed by the Benefits Agency Security Investigation Service. This is the operational arm of the Counter-Fraud Investigation Branch, led by the Head of Profession, which includes other units concerned with intelligence, joint working and professional standards. In addition, each of the 13 Area Directors in the Benefits Agency manages a resource of investigators known collectively as the Benefit Fraud Investigation Service (in Scotland, the Benefits Investigation Service).

Benefit Fraud

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will give the budget for (a) 200001 and (b) 200102 for (i) the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate, (ii) BASIS, (iii) the Fraud Strategy Directorate and (iv) the Professional Standards Unit.

Malcolm Wicks: We set out our strategy for tackling fraud and error in the paperA New Contract for Welfare: Safeguarding Social security (CM 4276)published on 23 March 1999. The overall aim of the strategy is to have a benefit system which is secure from first claim to final payment.
	The implementation of this strategy means that an anti-fraud focus is integral to the work of the whole Department, as is dealing with the wider agenda of error and incorrectness in benefit payments. The remit of the four units specified in the question does not therefore represent the full extent of the Department's counter- fraud strategy.
	The information available is in the table.
	
		 
		
			  200001 200102 
		
		
			 Benefit Fraud Inspectorate 5,866,200 6,002,928 
			 BASIS 13,200,778 11,205,000 
			 Fraud Strategy Directorate/Unit (39) 2,463,209 
			 Professional Standards Unit (39) 2,734,000 
		
	
	(39) Departmental re-organisation means it is not possible to compare directly one year with another nor to accurately break down the costs to allow an equal comparison.

Benefit Fraud

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money has been recovered from persons believed to have fraudulantly obtained benefits in each year since 1997; and if he will give a breakdown of funds recovered as a result of (a) Benefits Agency fraud investigations, (b) local authority investigations and (c) other investigations.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to him on 14 November 2001, Official Report, column 784W.

Benefit Fraud

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the incidence of fraud in respect of (a) means tested and (b) other benefits in the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: Our estimates of levels of fraud and error in income support and jobseeker's allowance are published in the series of reports Fraud and Error in Claims for Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance which are placed in the library.
	In April this year we also set up the housing benefit review which will deliver an on-going measurement of fraud and error in housing benefit. Fraud in other benefits is examined in our programme of national benefit reviews.
	Our most recent estimate is that 2 billion is lost annually through all benefit fraud. It is not possible to disaggregate this estimate in respect of (a) income-related and (b) other benefits.

Benefit Fraud

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Hamilton, South constituency were caught in benefit fraud in (a) 1998, (b) 1999, (c) 2000 and (d) 2001.

Malcolm Wicks: Information about benefit fraud at constituency level is not available.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target 
	(1)  for the timescale for processing minimum income guarantee claims following the submission of the required evidence;
	(2)  for the percentage of computer systems supporting pensions and income support delivery to be replaced.

Nick Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to him on 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 779W.

Ministerial Visits

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times Ministers from his Department have visited (a) the Teesside area and (b) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency to meet locally based businesses.

Malcolm Wicks: None, since the formation of the Department for Work and Pensions in June 2001.

Benefit Reductions

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what reductions are applied to an entitled person's (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit during a period of in-patient (i) NHS hospital treatment and (ii) private hospital treatment.

Malcolm Wicks: After six weeks of in-patient treatment in a national health service hospital people in receipt of housing benefit (HB) or council tax benefit (CTB), but who do not receive income support (IS), have their benefit reduced. This adjustment reflects the patient's lower day-to-day living expenses which result in more income being available to meet housing costs. At this stage, no automatic reduction is applied to HB or CTB paid to people receiving privately funded hospital treatment.
	People who receive HB or CTB and IS will have an analogous reduction applied to their IS entitlement after six weeks of in-patient treatment in a national health service hospital. Their HB or CTB entitlement will remain unchanged at this point unless they cease to be entitled to IS. Where IS entitlement does stop, people affected can reapply for HB or CTB at the reduced levels.
	After 52 weeks, or earlier if the local authority decides that the person's absence from home is likely to be substantially more than 52 weeks or permanent, both HB and CTB are withdrawn for all hospital in-patients.

Local Authority Fraud Investigators

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if the expenditure of 2 million for the training of additional local authority fraud investigators will be made in full in the current financial year.

Malcolm Wicks: Professionalism in Security (PiNS) was established in August 1998 to plan and implement Government proposals that would lead to the creation of a corps of highly skilled and motivated counter fraud staff in the Benefits Agency and Local Authorities. These fraud specialists would be working within a professional framework to the highest standards of performance and integrity.
	PiNS training courses have been scheduled until the end of March 2002. We forecast that 900 local authority investigators will complete their training resulting in expenditure of around 2 million by the end of the current financial year.

Permitted Earnings

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to review the rules on permitted earnings.

Maria Eagle: From 8 April 2002 we are introducing new permitted work rules for people who want to try some paid work while they are getting incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance or income support because of illness or disability. The new arrangements will allow any person claiming benefit, based on incapacity, to try some paid work without the need for prior approval from a doctor.
	Any person will be able to work:
	(a) for less than 16 hours a week, on average, with earnings up to 66.00 a week for a 26 week period. The period can be extended for another 26 weeks if a person is working with a job broker, personal adviser or disability employment adviser who agrees that it will help towards work of more than 16 hours a week. There will be no limit to the number of times someone can do permitted work in this category during the currency of a claim, but there must be a gap of at least 52 weeks between periods; or
	(b) for earnings of up to 20.00 a week at any time.
	Someone who is already doing therapeutic work when the rules change can carry on doing it until April 2003. After that they can apply to do permitted work.
	There are special arrangements for those disabled people who work in the community with ongoing support or supervision from a professional caseworker (employed or engaged by a public body or voluntary organisation). They will not be subject to time limits. This is intended to help those people whose disability means that their work capacity is limited to less than 16 hours a week, but is more than the few hours covered by the 20 per week option. These are people with conditions that cannot be cured but may be amenable to control or management by medication or therapy. This category will also include people who work in a sheltered workshop or as part of a hospital treatment programme.
	We have been consulting disability organisations on these proposals and will be laying regulations before the House early in the new year.

Permitted Earnings

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account is taken of the impact of (a) income support, (b) housing benefit and (c) council tax benefit thresholds when changes are made to the level of permitted earnings for those with mental health problems.

Malcolm Wicks: The permitted work rules allow people to try some paid work while they are getting a benefit based on incapacity. The new arrangements from 8 April 2002 will allow any person claiming benefit, based on incapacity, to try some paid work without the need for prior approval from a doctor.
	Income-related benefits are intended to help people whose resources are insufficient to meet their day-to-day living expenses. Any income which is available to meet those expenses is normally taken fully into account when working out how much benefit can be paid. Earnings in excess of the appropriate disregard are taken into account against benefit.
	The earnings disregard for people with disabilities was increased from 15 to 20 in April 2001. This disregard recognises the additional difficulties and expenses that these people are likely to face in taking up employment.

Mental Health

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will review the impact of the benefit system on people with mental health problems; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if it is his policy to consult (a) individuals and (b) organisations representing people with mental health disabilities when sickness benefits regulations are (i) reviewed and (ii) implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: We are committed to helping sick and disabled people back into work where they are able to do so, while providing support for those who cannot work.
	We have already increased the earnings disregards for disabled people, introduced the disabled persons' tax credit to help make work pay and the disability income guarantee which provides a guaranteed level of income for the most severely disabled people. From next April we are changing the permitted work rules to help more people try out some work without fear of it affecting their benefit entitlement. Guidance has recently been issued to Benefits Agency staff to help raise awareness about how they can help customers with mental health problems.
	We routinely consult with a wide range of interested organisations and individuals to help inform proposed policy changes. Piloting, with evaluation, is often used to refine services that will make a reality of our aim to promote opportunity and independence for all. The Department is statutorily required to put proposals for amendments to existing benefit regulations to the Social Security Advisory Committee for its consideration before they come before Parliament.

Mental Health

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with a mental health problem as the main reason for a claim to incapacity benefits were given a personal capability assessment last year; and of these, how many (a) were found capable of work and lost entitlement to incapacity benefits, (b) claimed other benefits instead, (c) were not entitled to benefits, (d) obtained employment and for how long, (e) did not obtain employment and (f) returned to a claim for incapacity benefit within a year.

Nick Brown: Between 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001, 279,950 people claiming incapacity benefit because of a mental health disorder were referred for a Personal Capability Assessment. Information for a corresponding period is not available on (a) the number of these people who were found capable of work and were no longer entitled to incapacity benefit; (b) the number who successfully claimed other benefits; (c) the number who subsequently reclaimed incapacity benefit within one year. Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information is not collected on the number of people leaving incapacity benefit who (i) are not entitled to other benefits; (ii) obtain employment; or (iii) do not obtain employment.

Mental Health

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) training and (b) guidance examining medical practitioners are given on assessing the effects of mental health problems on day-to-day living and mobility.

Maria Eagle: All Medical Services doctors undertake mandatory Continuing Professional Education training in the assessment of people with mental health problems, and in relating these, as appropriate, to the functional areas of daily living, completion of tasks, interaction with other people, and ability to cope with work. The assessment includes assessing memory, attention span, and ability to concentrate.
	Examining Medical Practitioners assessing day to day living needs in connection with claims for disability living allowance or attendance allowance, and mobility needs in connection with claims for the former, receive additional training in assessment of needs for guidance or supervision on account of mental health problems.

Mental Health

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if examining medical practitioners receive (a) training and (b) guidance on the difficulty for mental health service users in communicating their needs to an EMP.

Nick Brown: All Medical Services doctors undergo mandatory Continuing Professional Education training in assessment of people with mental health problems, including training in establishing rapport, the use of appropriate interviewing skills and questioning techniques, and assessment of memory, attention and concentration. Doctors are advised to seek additional information from carers or relatives when appropriate.

Incapacity Benefit

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what was the average 
	(1)  change of benefit income per person who last year failed to satisfy the personal capability assessment requirements to continue to receive incapacity benefit;
	(2)  net income from wages of people who obtained employment after failing the incapacity test last year; and if this was on average higher or lower than their previous benefit income.

Nick Brown: We are committed to helping sick and disabled people back into work where they are able to do so, while providing support for those who cannot work. Through our welfare reforms we have put into place measures to make work possible and to make it pay.
	As part of these reforms the Personal Capability Assessment (PCA) was introduced in April 2000 to allow additional information to be gathered about a person's capabilities, to assist a personal adviser in helping them plan a return to work. The PCA is about helping people into work, not making it harder to get benefit.
	Between 1 March 2000 and 28 February 2001 people who were found fit for work following a PCA (the All Work Test before 1 April 2000) saw an average benefit reduction of 39.60 per week.
	Information is not available on the average net income of people who were found fit for work following a PCA and are now in paid employment.

Incapacity Benefit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for each of the new Jobcentre Plus pathfinder areas, how many new claims for incapacity benefit have been made since the introduction of the scheme, and of these, how many (a) waivers and (b) deferrals for work-focused interviews have been made; how many work-focused interviews have taken place; and how many claimants have (i) refused to attend an interview and (ii) been subjected to benefit sanctions.

Nick Brown: The information is not available in the format requested.

Pensions

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to meet the Coalfields Community Campaign to discuss the issue of re- negotiating the surpluses received by the Government for acting as guarantors to the BCSSS and MPS pension schemes.

Brian Wilson: I have been asked to reply.
	None. Any issues relating to the current Guarantee arrangements are matters for discussion between my Department and the Trustees of the BCSSS and MPS.

New Deal

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents on income support have school age children; how many of these parents were on the new deal for lone parents in April; how many have attended a personal adviser interview since April, broken down into those who agreed to participate in the NDLP and those who did not; how many have refused or failed to attend a personal adviser interview since April; and how many have not yet been invited to a personal adviser interview.

Nick Brown: At August 2001, 638,600 1 lone parents who receive income support had a child between five and 15 years old. Information is not available on how many of these people are participating in the new deal for lone parents (NDLP) programme.
	Since April 2001, lone parents with a youngest child of school age (at least five years and three months old) have been asked to take part in a meeting with a personal adviser to discuss the range of help available to move into work when they make a claim for income support. This requirement is being extended to all lone parents making a claim to income support, in pathfinder areas since October 2001, and nationally from April 2002.
	Lone parents already claiming income support are being invited to a compulsory personal adviser meeting, on a rolling programme, starting this year with those with a youngest child of 1315 years.
	50,320 lone parents have attended a personal adviser meeting since 30 April 2001 of whom 16,080 have chosen to join the NDLP programme 2 .
	If lone parents fail to attend a compulsory personal adviser meeting their claim is disallowed or, if they are already receiving income support, their benefit is sanctioned. This has happened in 887 cases up to 30 November. If the lone parent subsequently participates in a personal adviser meeting then the sanction is lifted. Lone parents are not required to take further action beyond participating in a personal adviser meeting.
	Sources:
	1 Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry (August 2001)
	2 New Deal for Lone Parents and Personal Adviser Meetings Statistical First Release (statistics to September 2001)

New Deal

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents have been sent an invitation to a new deal for lone parents interview since the scheme began; how many of these lone parents have attended an interview; and how many have then agreed to participate in the scheme.

Nick Brown: Lone parents claiming income support, who are not required to attend a compulsory personal adviser meeting and who have a youngest child of at least three years old, are sent letters informing them about NDLP. These letters are not appointment letters but do give details of how lone parents can request an initial interview to find out more about NDLP and join the programme. By the end of September 2001 nearly 300,000 lone parents had chosen to attend an NDLP interview and nearly 85 per cent. of them chose to go on to participate in the programme.

New Deal

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion 
	(1)  of those leaving the new deal for the long-term unemployed aged (a) 25 to 29, (b) 30 to 49 and (c) 50+ years found (i) employment and (ii) sustained jobs in each year since 1998;
	(2)  of those leaving the new deal for the long-term unemployed did so for (a) sustained jobs and (b) jobs lasting fewer than 13 weeks, broken down by region;
	(3)  of the pre-April 2001 entrants to the new deal for the long-term unemployed who undertook (a) the employment option and (b) the full-time education and training option found sustained jobs on leaving the new deal.

Nick Brown: From April 2001 we have introduced a new, enhanced new deal 25 plus for those unemployed for 18 months or more which offers more intensive, individually tailored support to participants.
	The available information relating to the pre-April 2001 new deal for the long-term unemployed is in the tables. In addition to those recorded as leaving for sustained, unsubsidised jobs, we know from independent surveys that a significant proportion of leavers to unknown destinations will also have found work.
	
		Proportion of people leaving new deal for the long-term unemployed whose immediate destination was sustained, unsubsidised employment -- Percentage
		
			Age group on joining the new deal  
			   2529 3049 50+ Overall 
		
		
			 1998(40) 34 29 17 26 
			 1999 19 16 9 14 
			 2000 18 15 11 14 
			 2001(41) 18 15 11 14 
			 Overall 19 16 10 15 
		
	
	(40) From start July
	(41) To end September
	
		Proportion of people leaving new deal for the long-term unemployed whose immediate destination was sustained, unsubsidised employment (to end September 2001)
		
			 Region Percentage 
		
		
			 Scotland 12 
			 Northern 10 
			 North West 14 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 14 
			 Wales 14 
			 West Midlands 13 
			 East Midlands and Eastern 15 
			 South West 20 
			 London/South East 17 
			  
			 Total 15 
		
	
	
		Proportion of people leaving the pre-April 2001 new deal options whose immediate destination was sustained, unsubsidised employment (to end September 2001)
		
			 Option Percentage 
		
		
			 Subsidised employment 11 
			 Education and training 15 
		
	
	Note:
	By definition, all jobs gained by new deal leavers are sustained, unsubsidised jobs (ie to have left the programme they must not re-claim jobseeker's allowance within 13 weeks).
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database

New Deal

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information is given to new deal personal advisers on the opportunities that exist for new deal participants within Government Departments.

Nick Brown: All public sector vacancies notified to the Employment Service by various Government Departments are treated in exactly the same way as all others placed by public and private sector employers. Those new deal clients who then wish to apply for civil service opportunities are matched and screened against the desired recruitment criteria by the new deal adviser. Information on those Departments which have signed up to new deal is made available to all new deal advisers through the Employment Services' internal communications system (ESCOM).

New Deal

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2001, Official Report, column 160W, what proportion of the number of people leaving for (a) employment and (b) sustained employment in Government Departments represents the (i) total number of people leaving the new deal for young people and (ii) number of people leaving the new deal for young people for employment.

Nick Brown: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

New Deal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of individuals 
	(1)  in (a) the constituency of Buckingham and (b) total UK population have found permanent employment as a result of the new deal for (i) the long-term unemployed 25+, (ii) lone parents, (iii) disabled people and (iv) 50+ in each of the years since they were introduced;
	(2)  in (a) the constituency of Buckingham and (b) total UK population are participating in the new deal (i) for the long-term unemployed 25+, (ii) for lone parents, (iii) for disabled people and (iv) for 50+.

Nick Brown: Information is not available in the format requested.

New Deal

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Hamilton, South constituency found permanent employment as a result of new deal for (a) long-term unemployed 25 plus, (b) lone parents, (c) disabled people and (d) 50 plus in each of the years since they were introduced.

Nick Brown: The available information is in the table.
	
		Number of people helped into sustained jobs in Hamilton, South by year
		
			 Programme  1998 1999 2000 2001 Total 
		
		
			 New Deal 25 plus (July 1998-September 2001) 6 19 36 33 94 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents (October 1998-September 2001) 12 36 62 44 154 
			 New Deal 50 plus Employment Credit starts (April 2000-October 2001)   37 34 71 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Sustained jobs are those lasting more than 13 weeks. No information on whether jobs are permanent is available for new deal for lone parents.
	2. Figures shown are therefore for lone parents into employment.
	3. Information at constituency level is not available for the new deal for disabled people.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database

ONE Programme

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of lone parents participating in the ONE Programme has obtained employment.

Nick Brown: Survey evidence from the ONE evaluation found that 14 per cent. of lone parents were in work of over 16 hours a week, four to five months after having begun their claim. Further information can be found in DWP Research Report No. 156, copies of which are in the House of Commons Library.

Unemployment (Disabled People)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unemployed disabled people there were expressed (a) numerically and (b) as a percentage of the total unemployed in each month since January 1997 (i) nationally and (ii) in the south-west.

Nick Brown: The available information is in the table:
	
		
			   ILO Unemployed  
			  Total working-age Working-age disabled people Percentage 
		
		
			 Great Britain
			 1998 1,703,266 332,768 19.5 
			 1999 1,678,741 348,153 20.7 
			 2000 1,551,454 348,813 22.5 
			 2001 1,343,345 279,795 20.8 
			 South-west
			 1998 107,276 25,656 23.9 
			 1999 115,601 24,262 21.0 
			 2000 100,126 25,039 25.0 
			 2001 85,043 19,913 23.4 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information is from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which uses the International Labour Organisation (ILO) measure of unemployment.
	2. People are ILO unemployed if they are out of work, want a job, have actively sought work in the last four weeks and are available to start work in the next two weeks.
	3. Information is not available by month because seasonally adjusted information from the Labour Force Survey is only available once each year. Therefore, the table provides information on Great Britain and the south-west for the spring quarter of each year since 1998.
	4. Information before 1998 is not comparable due to changes in the health and disability questions asked in the LFS.
	Source:
	LFS Spring Quarters 19982001.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to develop the role of care managers (a) in vocational rehabilitation and (b) in developing appropriate (i) training and (ii) qualifications for them.

Nick Brown: holding answer 6 December 2001
	We are still establishing our strategy on the provision of a vocational rehabilitation service. We will consider the role of a care manager in any possible future service. No decision has been taken on any appropriate training and qualifications that may be needed.

Departmental Sickness Absence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many days were lost due to sickness absence in the Department in each of the last four years.

Nick Brown: Such information as is available is in the table.
	
		
			 Year DSS ES 
		
		
			 1998 1,130,000 431,158 
			 1999 1,046,000 479,157 
			 2000 1,082,000 405,272 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures relate to the former Department for Social Security and the Employment Service.

Small Businesses

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what structures exist to facilitate communication between his Department and small businesses.

Nick Brown: Meeting the changing needs of small businesses will be critical if we are to succeed in maintaining economic growth and providing people with greater opportunity through work. We are very keen to listen to the views and ideas of small businesses to ensure that we succeed.
	The National Employer Panel is an employer-led body which provides independent advice to Ministers on the design, delivery and performance of our welfare to work services. Three of the Panel's members are from the small business sector. The Panel also has a sub-committee on small business issues.
	In addition to these formal arrangements, the Department works with the small business sector through a range of initiatives and forums. Small businesses participate in the Employer Coalitions we have set up in several major cities and in the many New Deal Steering Groups up and down the country. Their participation helps ensure that our approach to helping people back into work is responsive to the needs of small businesses.

Asylum Seekers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of benefits paid to people applying for asylum in the UK was in 200001.

Malcolm Wicks: From 3 April 2000 the Home Office is responsible for supporting and accommodating asylum seekers awaiting a determination of their case. Those asylum seekers in receipt of benefits prior to 3 April 2000 continue to be eligible to claim income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit. Provisional estimates are that benefit totalling 185 million was paid to these asylum seekers during the financial year 200001.

Asylum Seekers

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what is the estimated amount of money paid to asylum seekers by way of benefit in 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: From 3 April 2000 the Home Office is responsible for supporting and accommodating asylum seekers awaiting a determination of their case. Those asylum seekers in receipt of benefits prior to 3 April 2000 continue to be eligible to claim income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit. Provisional estimates are that benefit totalling 215 million was paid to asylum seekers between 1 January and 31 December 2000.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in the Epsom and Ewell constituency received the minimum income guarantee in each year since 1998.

Ian McCartney: The latest figures as at August 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 for pensioners in the Epsom and Ewell constituency receiving minimum income guarantee are as follows:
	
		Thousand 
		
			   Number of claimants 
		
		
			 August 1998 1.2 
			 August 1999 1.1 
			 August 2000 1.1 
			 August 2001 1.2

Minimum Income Guarantee

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Battersea receive the minimum income guarantee; and what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who are entitled to benefit from it.

Ian McCartney: As at August 2001 there were 2,800 pensioners receiving the minimum income guarantee (MIG) in Battersea.
	Estimates of the number of pensioners who may qualify for, but who have not claimed the MIG are not available below national level. The latest national figures on the number of people who may be entitled to the MIG are included in the publication Take Up of Income Related Benefits: Statistics for 19992000, copies of which are available in the Library of both Houses.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Wales qualify for the minimum income guarantee; and how many are in receipt of it.

Ian McCartney: As at August 2001 there were 100,200 pensioners claiming the minimum income guarantee (MIG) in Wales.
	Estimates of the number of people who may qualify for, but who have not claimed the MIG are not available below national level.

Benefits Agency Staff

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many attacks on staff have taken place in each Benefits Agency office in Greater London in each of the last five years.

Nick Brown: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The available information is in the table.
	
		Assault in Benefits Agency offices in Greater London
		
			   2001  2000  
			 Site  Non- physical Physical Non- physical Physical 
		
		
			 Balham Irene House 6 0 17 2 
			 Barking 0 0 2 0 
			 Barnet Hill 0 0 0 1 
			 Bexleyheath 10 0 0 0 
			 Bloomsbury 13 0 26 0 
			 Brixton 48 1 55 3 
			 Bromley 20 1 14 1 
			 Canning Town 0 0 1 0 
			 City 8 0 22 1 
			 Croydon 2 0 6 0 
			 Crystal Palace 27 1 7 0 
			 Dulwich 1 0 1 0 
			 Ealing 40 9 45 0 
			 Edgware 1 0 0 0 
			 Edmonton 0 0 1 0 
			 Euston 3 0 20 2 
			 Finsbury Park 9 0 13 0 
			 Fulham 4 0 19 1 
			 Greenwich Park 0 0 1 0 
			 Hackney 40 0 30 0 
			 Harrow 7 0 4 0 
			 Highgate 31 2 82 3 
			 Hounslow 24 3 16 1 
			 Hoxton 7 0 28 0 
			 Ilford 0 0 5 0 
			 Kennington Park 31 1 2 0 
			 Kensington 0 0 19 0 
			 Lewisham 9 0 15 0 
			 Leytonstone 0 0 3 0 
			 Neasden 0 1 3 1 
			 Notting Hill 2 0 1 0 
			 Paddington 15 1 11 1 
			 Peckham 34 0 33 1 
			 Plaistow 3 0 13 1 
			 Poplar 21 0 31 0 
			 Romford 0 0 1 0 
			 Southall 5 0 8 0 
			 Southwark 23 1 14 0 
			 Stratford 6 0 17 1 
			 Streatham 1 0 3 0 
			 Sutton 22 0 14 0 
			 Tottenham 1 0 1 0 
			 Twickenham 1 0 2 0 
			 Walthamstow 0 0 3 0 
			 Wandsworth 5 0 10 0 
			 Wimbledon 15 0 0 0 
			 Wood Green 10 0 10 0 
			 Woolwich 76 4 58 1

Winter Fuel Allowance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners received the winter fuel allowance in 2000; and how many will receive it this winter in (a) the UK and (b) South Tyneside.

Ian McCartney: Over 11 million people received a winter fuel payment for winter 200001, around 32,900 of whom were in the South Tyneside local authority area. Figures for this winter are expected to be similar.

Stakeholder Pensions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Buckingham constituency have taken out stakeholder pensions.

Ian McCartney: The information is not available.

Stakeholder Pensions

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many stakeholder pension plans have been sold in (a) Wales, and (b) the other regions of the UK;
	(2)  of those stakeholder pensions sold in Wales, how many have been transferred from existing pension plans;
	(3)  how many firms in (a) Wales and (b) the other regions of the UK, have made provision for stakeholder pensions for their work force.

Ian McCartney: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows:
	Number of stakeholder pensions sold: 491,694
	Number of employers who have designated stakeholder pension schemes: 284,821
	Note:
	Figures cover all United kingdom and show the position at the end of October 2001.
	Source:
	Association of British Insurers (ABI).
	The ABI has reported that over three-quarters of those employers required to do so had designated a stakeholder pension scheme for their staff by the end of October. We know that other designations were in progress at that time.
	We should also remember that stakeholder pensions have led to other improvements in pension provision. Charges on personal pensions have fallen as a result of stakeholder pensions, and employers have also widened their schemes to cover more of their work forces. This means more people are able to save for their retirement.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal notices his Department has received in the last year from the Parliamentary Ombudsman expressing an intention to carry out an investigation; and in respect of each notice, how long it took to respond.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 November 2001
	The Department received 234 statements of complaint from the Parliamentary Ombudsman in the last financial year April 2000 to March 2001. The average length of time taken to respond to the statement of complaint is 25.51 working days.

Estate Management Services (PRIME Contract)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the saving from the PRIME contract with Trillium for estate management services.

Malcolm Wicks: In line with the findings of the National Audit Office, the public sector comparator for PRIME estimated that the Department will save 560 million over the life of the 20-year contract. This is some 22 per cent. less than it would have cost the Department had we continued with our previous estate management arrangements.
	In addition to this significant reduction in our running costs, the financial benefit of many innovative ideas in the PRIME contract such as the sharing of gains on disposal of properties and various contractor incentivisation and benefit sharing provisions, are now being realised. The first three full years of the contract with Land Securities Trillium has brought about the following returns:
	
		
			million 
		
		
			 199899  
			 Centralisation of CILOR (Contribution In Lieu Of Rates) Control 3.000 
			 Release of surplus space @ 1.4.98 10.000 
			 Release of space 1.000 
			   
			 19992000  
			 Credits from CILOR appeals 12.488 
			 Development Gain 10.992 
			 Utilities reconciliation 2.714 
			 Energy savings 1.709 
			 Release of space .856 
			 Unavailability deduction .128 
			   
			 200001  
			 Business rate corrections with LAs 8.000 
			 Development Gain pool 1.000 
			 Energy savings .400 
			 Utilities reconciliation .460

Pensioner Incomes

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide a breakdown of average pensioner incomes for each year between 1979 and the last year for which information is available.

Ian McCartney: The average pensioner incomes are supplied in the table.
	
		Average pensioner incomes 19791999/2000 --  per annum
		
			  All pensioners Pensioner couples Single pensioners 
		
		
			 1979 115 167 87 
			 1981 122 174 94 
			 1987 147 212 111 
			 1988 152 227 110 
			 1989 150 215 113 
			 199091 163 232 121 
			 1992 173 244 130 
			 199293 173 244 130 
			 199495(42) 177 253 130 
			 199596(42) 176 249 130 
			 199697(42) 187 268 135 
			 199798(42) 189 270 137 
			 199899(42) 194 275 142 
			 1999/2000(42) 201 281 149 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All incomes are  per week and at July prices.
	2. FRS information is only available from 1994. Prior to this, FES based estimates have been used.
	3. Pensioners are defined as:
	Single (non cohabiting) people over State pension age (65 for men and 60 for women).
	Couples (married or cohabiting) where the man, who is defined as the head of a couple, is aged 65 and over.
	4. The income quoted is the net mean income before housing costs. It includes all types of income including benefit income, occupational pensions, investment income and earnings.
	Source:
	(42) The Family Resources Survey (FRS) 1994/791999/2000
	The Family Expenditure Survey (FES) 19791992/93

Post Office Card Account

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in establishing a Post Office card account system; and what factors underlay the decision as to who will receive these accounts.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for E-Commerce and Competitiveness (Mr. Alexander) on 17 December 2001, Official Report, column 119W.

Benefits Agency

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will introduce freephone telephone numbers for the Benefits Agency.

Nick Brown: holding answer 19 December 2001
	There are clearly benefits to be gained by offering Freecall and Local Call Rate services to Benefits Agency customers, but this has to be weighed against the cost to provide such services.
	Where services are provided through a call centre, our policy is to offer telephone numbers which are chargeable at local call rates. This allows customers to be charged for the call at a local rate, regardless of the actual destination of that call within the UK. The Department meets the balance of the call cost. Further, where customers are likely to face significant difficulties in affording such charges, a Freecall number has indeed been provided. Customers are also able to ask for a call back from the Department rather than incurring personal call costs.
	The Department is currently modernising the delivery of its services to customers. Both Jobcentre Plus and the Pensions Organisation are in the process of assessing the best use of the telephone for customer contact. We are exploring the use of a single Local Call Rate number for initial contact with the Department. Calls could then be directed automatically to the most appropriate contact point, based on the originating dialling code. We are still in the early stages of this assessment.

Benefits Agency

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what is the cost of amalgamating the Benefits Agency and the employment services in the current year;
	(2)  what savings his Department will make over the next five years by amalgamating the Benefits Agency and the employment services.

Nick Brown: We have in the current year invested 122 million in establishing the new Jobcentre Plus pathfinder offices and in preparing for the wider integration of the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service more generally. We expect substantial savings to accrue from the creation of Jobcentre Plus over the next five years as we implement the new Jobcentre Plus network nationwide.

Hospital Downrating Rules

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact on old people whose pensions are reduced while in hospital.

Ian McCartney: The Department, in conjunction with the Department of Health, has looked at issues affecting hospital in-patients including rules governing the downrating of benefits.
	This rule prevents double provision from public funds as the publicly funded NHS maintains people while they stay in hospital as well as providing free treatment. Social security maintenance benefits are also paid from state funds. They are therefore not paid in full indefinitely where a person is in a NHS hospital and having their day-to-day living expenses met through the NHS.
	The double provision principle is a key cornerstone of the system of national insurance introduced over 50 years ago.

Hospital Downrating Rules

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners, affected by the hospital downrating rules, have had demands to pay back to the Pensions Service sums of (a) between 25 and 50, (b) between 51 and 100, (c) between 101 and 200 and (d) more than 200, in the last year for which figures are available.

Ian McCartney: The information is not available in the required format.

Hospital Downrating Rules

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average value was of pension reduction applied to pensioners who had hospital stays of (a) more than six and (b) more than 52 weeks, in the last year for which figures are available.

Ian McCartney: The average weekly reduction in retirement pension for pensioners in hospital between six and 52 weeks is 23.
	The average weekly reduction in retirement pension for pensioners in hospital over 52 weeks is 56.
	Source:
	Administrative data, 31 March 2001.

Hospital Downrating Rules

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners, affected by the hospital downrating rules, had their pensions reduced after (a) six and (b) 52 weeks in hospital in the last year for which figures are available.

Ian McCartney: The information requested is in the table:
	
		
			  Category of hospital reduction Number of retirement pensioners 
		
		
			 Reduced after 6 weeks 23,000 
			 Reduced after 52 weeks 10,000 
		
	
	Source:
	March 2001 Administrative Sample

Hospital Downrating Rules

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will quantify the cost of administrating the task of (a) reducing the pensions of pensioners and (b) collecting retrospective deductions from pensioners who have been in hospital for more than (i) six and (ii) 52 weeks.

Ian McCartney: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 513W.

Benefits Take-up

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) of 19 November 2001, Official Report, columns 6667W, what measures are being considered to encourage those aged 60 years and over to claim the benefits to which they are entitled.

Ian McCartney: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. McWalter) on 10 December 2001, Official Report, columns 60102W.

Welfare to Work

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference between the final voted departmental expenditure limit and provisional outturn for financial year 200001, as listed in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 200001: Provisional Outturn, for the Welfare to Work category; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: Full details of outturn against 200001 voted provision will be published in the appropriation accounts to be presented to the House of Commons by 31 January and will contain full explanations of any significant differences between final voted provision and actual outturn. Updated estimates of the outturn for departmental expenditure limits in 200001 were published in the 2001 pre-Budget report (Cm 5318), Table B16.

Carers' Benefits

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will place responses to the consultation on carers' benefits in the Library.

Maria Eagle: The Explanatory Document laid before Parliament on 17 December alongside the proposed Regulatory Order Reform (Carer's Allowance) Order 2002 contains a detailed digest of responses and is available in the Library.

Invalid Care Allowance

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to change invalid care allowance for carers aged over 65 years.

Maria Eagle: On 17 December we laid a draft Regulatory Reform Order before Parliament which, if approved, will give those aged over 65 the right to claim invalid care allowance for the first time.
	The order would also provide for the extension of entitlement to invalid care allowance for up to eight weeks after the death of the person being cared for and a change in the name of the benefit to carer's allowance to reflect more closely the purpose of the benefit.

Income Support

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what target times are set for the completion of transfers from jobseeker's allowance to income support for 60-year-olds.

Ian McCartney: In October 2001 we introduced simplified claim forms for people aged 60 or over to help ease their transition from working age benefits onto income support and the minimum income guarantee.
	The target for clearance of income support claims is 12 days from the date that the customer provides all the necessary information. There are no separate targets for customers who claim on reaching the age of 60.

Assaults on Staff

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 12 November 2001, Official Report, column 554, if he will make a statement on progress in combating verbal and physical assaults on staff.

Nick Brown: holding answer 10 December 2001
	We estimate that over a quarter of a million people have passed through the Jobcentre Plus pathfinder offices during the first month of their operation. Risk assessments for each of the new Jobcentre Plus offices have been carried out and, following consultation with local trade union health and safety representatives, a series of extra security measures has been introduced. These include wide coverage by closed circuit television; training for staff in how to handle difficult situations; better management in each office to avoid difficult situations building up; panic alarms; and more visible and effective security guards. Additionally in each pathfinder area there are screened facilities to deal with individuals and parts of the business that pose a greater risk. These will, we believe, lead to fewer incidents of verbal and physical assaults on staff.

Competitive Tendering

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the schemes administered by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies where funds are allocated by a competitive bidding process; and what was the amount of money allocated to each scheme.

Nick Brown: holding answer 3 December 2001
	The Department does not itself administer schemes where funds are allocated by a competitive bidding process. It does submit bids for funds under schemes administered by the Treasury, such as the Invest to Save or Capital Modernisation Fund. The Department also uses the competitive bidding process to secure value for money in procuring goods and services from external suppliers. It is normal departmental policy to obtain competitive bids for all procurements valued at 500 or more. This policy results in thousands of procurement exercises where funds are paid to successful suppliers. Listing these exercises would incur disproportionate cost.

Long-term Unemployed

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his statement of 28 November, what consultation he has held with (a) employers and (b) others concerning his proposals in respect of the new deal for the long-term unemployed; how many (i) employers and (ii) others have indicated a willingness to employ the long-term unemployed under the proposals; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of long-term unemployed likely to be employed by (A) private sector employers and (B) local authorities.

Nick Brown: We have consulted the National Employment Panel on our proposals to build on the new deal for the long-term unemployed. We are also continuing to consult with local employers and other organisations in each of the pilot locations. Participants will vary from pilot to pilot and it is too early to say what proportion of people are likely to be employed by private sector employers and by local authorities.

Remploy

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what were the total non-disabled staff costs in Remploy in (a) 199798, (b) 199899, (c) 19992000 and (d) 200001.

Maria Eagle: Total non-disabled staff costs in Remploy were as follows:
	
		
			 Year  million 
		
		
			 199798 30.7 
			 199899 30.1 
			 19992000 28.4 
			 200001 28.5 
		
	
	These figures include costs of disabled staff who are not employed under the Workstep programmes.

Remploy

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) lower, (b) middle and (c) senior management in Remploy there were in (i) 199798, (ii) 199899, (iii) 19992000 and (iv) 200001; and what was the total expenditure on each of (a), (b) and (c) for those years.

Maria Eagle: Remploy does not categorise its work force in the groups detailed in the question.

Remploy

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-disabled workers were employed by Remploy in (a) 199798, (b) 199899, (c) 19992000 and (d) 200001.

Maria Eagle: The numbers of non-disabled people employed by Remploy are in the table.
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 199798 1,457 
			 199899 1,402 
			 19992000 1,260 
			 200001 1,149 
		
	
	In Remploy the term non-disabled employees includes disabled people not supported by the Workstep programme.

Blind People (Services)

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment the Government have made of moon language for the blind; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Government have not made an assessment of moon language.

Older People

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the (a) frequency of meetings and (b) priorities of the Interministerial Committee on Older People.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Under paragraph 2 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, information about Cabinet Committee business is not released.

Industrial Action

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has undertaken into the impact on benefit claimants in areas affected by industrial strike action.

Nick Brown: We have ensured that benefit claimants are not adversely affected by the industrial action by introducing contingency arrangements. Benefit payments have continued to be made in the offices affected using those staff who have remained at work supported, where appropriate, by staff redeployed from other areas. Where it has not been possible to make benefit payments under the normal procedures due to a lack of sufficient numbers of experienced staff, Pathfinder offices have made interim payments at an amount equivalent to the full benefit rate.

Jobcentre Plus

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department met the target of ensuring that all staff in new Jobcentre Plus offices were fully trained by the end of November.

Nick Brown: Yes, with the exception of those staff absent from work because of their involvement in the ongoing industrial action or for other reasons. Those staff will be trained as soon as they return to work.

Jobcentre Plus

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional risk assessments have been carried out in Jobcentre Plus offices following experience of their operation; and what the results were of such assessments.

Nick Brown: Full risk assessments were carried out in all of the Pathfinder offices before they opened and the recommendations of each assessment implemented in full. As planned, further assessments are now being undertaken in each office to review the original recommendations in the light of actual experience of the new offices in operation. So far 32 such assessments have been completed.
	Early indications from the further assessments are that Jobcentre Plus offices are working as intended as are the previously recommended safety measures. The review visits have led to some minor changes to recommended control measures, reflecting updated details in the Generic Risk Assessment, and these are being implemented as they arise.

Jobcentre Plus

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 14 November 2001, Official Report, column 785W, on Jobcentre Plus, what contingency plans are in place to ensure that customers continue to receive the benefits to which they are entitled in areas where Jobcentre Plus staff are undertaking strike action.

Nick Brown: Benefit payments have continued to be made in Jobcentre Plus Pathfinder offices using those staff who have remained at work supported, where appropriate, by staff redeployed from other areas. Where it has not been possible to make benefit payments under the normal procedures due to a lack of sufficient numbers of experienced staff, Pathfinder offices have made interim payments at an amount equivalent to the full benefit rate.

Jobcentre Plus

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason he has not introduced the integrated claim form that was piloted in the ONE Call Centre pilots into the new Jobcentre Plus offices.

Nick Brown: The integrated claim form was piloted in the call centre variant of the ONE pilots. The valuable lessons learned from the ONE experience have been fed through to the new modernised Information Technology solutions for the Department for Work and Pensions that are planned to be rolled out to Jobcentre Plus offices from 2002. These will include an integrated claim form for customers to complete by telephone.

Disability Claimants

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disability claimants there were in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the constituency of Gordon in November 2000.

Maria Eagle: The available information is in the table. Figures for Gordon at November 2000 are not available.
	
		Recipients of disability living allowance and attendance allowance
		
			  30 November 2000 31 May 2001 
		
		
			 Great Britain(43)   
			 Disability living allowance 2,197.6 2,240.5 
			 Attendance allowance 1,291.3 1,290.0 
			
			 Gordon(44)   
			 Disability living allowance (45) 1,835 
			 Attendance allowance (45) 1,255 
		
	
	(43) Based on 5 per cent. data, rounded to nearest 100
	(44) Based on 100 per cent. data, rounded to nearest five
	(45) Not available
	The Northern Ireland Assembly is responsible for social security matters within Northern Ireland.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are entitled to more than one reduced earnings allowance entitlement as part of their industrial injuries disablement benefit.

Nick Brown: The number of people entitled to more than one reduced earnings allowance as part of their industrial injuries disablement benefit is 1,100.
	Source:
	10 per cent. sample of industrial injuries disablement benefit assessments at April 2000.

Pension Schemes

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 16 November 2001, Official Report, column 534W, how much was paid in each year since 1992 into (a) defined benefit pension schemes and (b) defined contribution pension schemes.

Ian McCartney: This information is not available. Non-state pensions are private, voluntary arrangements, and we do not ask pension administrators or providers to disclose the nature of the benefits accrued from year- on-year investments by employers or individuals.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Social Services

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many full-time equivalents per 10,000 population work in social services in (a) Portsmouth, South and (b) Hampshire; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of full-time equivalents employed by the local authority social services department at 30 September 2000 per 10,000 (population measured at 30 June 2000) was 58.11 for Portsmouth unitary authority and 26.38 for Hampshire shire county. These figures compare with an England average of 43.44.
	Portsmouth unitary authority covers a larger area than Portsmouth, South constituency. Data are available only for councils with social services responsibilities and not for parliamentary constituencies.

Early Years Development Partnerships

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she has received further bids from Leicestershire (a) local education authorities and (b) Early Years Development Partnerships for additional funding in (i) 200102 and (ii) 200203; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: An additional bid for places for three-year-olds in 200102, for the spring term, was received from Leicestershire. They were notified that it had been successful on 27 November 2001. This increased Leicester's allocation for 200102 from 3.1 million to 3.7 million.
	All local education authorities in England, including Leicestershire, will shortly be notified of the funding for nursery education places for three-year-olds that they will receive in 200203.

Statemented Pupils

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many statemented pupils were excluded from school on a (a) permanent basis and (b) temporary basis in (i) Durham and (ii) England.

Stephen Timms: The number of statemented pupils permanently excluded from maintained primary, maintained secondary and special schools in Durham LEA and England in the school year 19992000 were 19 and 1,494 respectively.
	The number of statemented pupils who received fixed term exclusions in Durham local education authority in the school year 19992000 was 277.
	This represents 16 per cent. of the total number of pupils excluded for a fixed term and 0.38 per cent. of the total school population in Durham.

Statemented Pupils

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many, and what percentage, of pupils at (a) Key Stage 1 and (b) Key Stage 2 in Durham are statemented.

Ivan Lewis: The number of statemented pupils in Durham local education authority at Key Stages 1 and 2 has been estimated at 300 and 780, respectively in 2001.

Early Years Excellence

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight, on 14 November 2001, Official Report, cols 79899W, if she will list the criteria for joining the Early Excellence Centres programme contained in the latest invitation to join the programme; and if she will make a statement on how these relate to the earlier invitations.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 20 November 2002
	Criteria and detailed requirements for joining the Early Excellence Centre (EEC) programme are set out in guidance issued by the Department. The latest guidance was issued on 5 October 2001. The core activities of the programme which all centres are expected to deliver, or have well advanced and convincing plans to develop, remain unchanged from previous phases of the programme and are as follows:
	good quality integrated early education and day care for children 0-five requiring centre-based extended-day and extended-year provision;
	parental and carer involvement in the education and care of children, e.g. schemes for family learning, developing parenting skills, raising parents' expectations and in other ways;
	support services for children and parents and carers of children, e.g. health, counselling and information services, home support, drop-in facilities;
	effective early identification and intervention for children in need and children with special educational needs, with a view to improving children's prospects and, wherever appropriate, achieving inclusion in mainstream provision;
	access to adult education and training by parents of young children and other adults, including those seeking skills and qualifications for employment;
	raising standards of integrated early years provision among other early years providers, including voluntary and private providers, childminders and other carers, by contributing to the training and development strategy of the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and through the development and dissemination of good practice.
	Decisions on designations also take into account links with other Government programmes, geographical coverage, support of key partners, especially the local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP), and commitment to multi-agency working.

Pre-school Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the new regulations affecting pre-school playgroups and nurseries introduced since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Regulations have been introduced as follows:
	Regulations to implement the programme of three and four-year-old nursery education funding:
	Nursery Education (England) Regulations 1998Revoked
	Nursery Education (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1999Revoked
	Nursery Education (England) (Amendment) (No2) Regulations 1999Revoked
	Nursery Education (England) Regulations 2000 1
	Regulations giving power to pay 24 million training grant:
	The Education (Nursery Education Training Grant) (England) Regulations 2001
	Regulations forming part of the new national system of regulating day care for under-8s, operated by Ofsted:
	Child Minding and Day Care (Disqualification) (England) Regulations 2001 1
	Child Minding and Day Care (Applications for Registration) (England) Regulations 2001 1
	Child Minding and Day Care (Certificates of Registration) (England) Regulations 2001 1
	Child Minding and Day Care (Registration and Annual Fees) Regulations 2001 1
	Child Minding and Day Care (National Standards) (England) Regulations 2001
	Day Care and Childminding (Inspections) (Prescribed Matters) (England) Regulations 2001
	Child Minding and Day Care (Functions of Local Authorities: Information, Advice and Training) (England) Regulations 2001
	Regulations giving the Secretary of State power to accredit over-7s settings to enable parents to claim the child care element of working families tax credit:
	Tax Credit Act (New Category of Childcare Provider) Regulations 1999.

Pre-school Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pre-school nurseries and playgroups are registered with Ofsted in (a) Surrey and (b) England and Wales.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the form requested. The Department collects information on day nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools defined in terms of the full day or sessional care that they provide. It does not collect information on pre-schools separately from playgroups. The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		Number of day nurseries and playgroups and pre-schools: England and Surrey local authority area: position at 31 March 2001
		
			   Day nurseries Playgroups and pre-schools 
		
		
			 England(46) 7,800 14,000 
			 Surrey LA area(47) 170 370 
		
	
	(46) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
	(47) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Local authorities provided the data. Ofsted did not assume responsibility for registration and inspection of children's day care facilities until September 2001.
	Figures for 2001 for England and Government Office regions were published in Statistical Bulletin 08/01 Children's Day Care Facilities as at 31 March 2001, which is available at www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/ and from the Library.
	For information for Wales, I refer the hon. Member to the Education Department of the Assembly for Wales.

Teaching Qualifications

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will negotiate mutual recognition of teaching qualifications with other Commonwealth countries.

Stephen Timms: We have no plans to do so. Previous comparability arrangements for recognition of overseas teaching qualifications were withdrawn in 1989. These were replaced by mutual recognition arrangements with other countries in the European Economic Area coupled with an employment based training route which enables overseas-trained teachers from countries outside the European Economic Area to obtain qualified teacher status. These arrangements were augmented earlier this year to allow exceptional experienced overseas trained teachers to obtain qualified teacher status and an exemption from induction through a simultaneous assessment.

Individual Learning Accounts

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what inquiry she has commenced into the circumstances of closure of the Individual Learning Accounts scheme; what the terms of reference of the inquiry are; and when she expects it to report.

John Healey: holding answer 10 December 2001
	On 12 November the Secretary of State asked the Department's Head of Internal Audit to carry out a review of the development and management of Individual Learning Accounts. I will make the results of this work available to the House in due course.

Individual Learning Accounts

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she has taken to ensure hon. Members are kept informed of developments relating to the Individual Learning Accounts programme; and if she will place relevant papers in the Library.

John Healey: It is important that Parliament is kept informed of developments relating to the Individual Learning Accounts programme. I wrote to all hon. Members on 24 October, 27 November and 18 December 2001. I have also undertaken to keep the Education and Skills Select Committee updated following the withdrawal of the Individual Learning Accounts programme on 23 November and I wrote to the Chairman about this on 30 November, 7 December and 18 December and copies have already been placed in the House Library. I am also responding individually to Members addressing both concerns from their constituents and parliamentary questions.

UK Youth Parliament

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the development of the UK Youth Parliament; and if she will make a statement.

John Denham: The Government want to provide more opportunities for children and young people to have a bigger say about policies and services relevant to them. I value the UK Youth Parliament as one of the routes by which this can happen. The Government have given support to the UK Youth Parliament to help it establish itself. I have now asked the Children and Young People's Unit to explore with the UK Youth Parliament what more the Parliament can do to ensure that it acts as an effective voice for children and young people, as part of our drive to improve children and young people's participation right across Government and in their communities.

Youth Councils

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to encourage youth councils at a local level; and if she will make a statement.

John Denham: On 2 November, I published Learning to Listen: Core Principles for the Involvement of Children and Young People. It commits Government Departments to increase opportunities for children and young people to have a bigger say about policies and services relevant to them across government and in their communities. Youth councils provide one way to help achieve this. The funding we are making available through the new Transforming Youth Work Development Fund will provide additional resources to support the drive for increased participation, help to ensure there is enhanced youth work provision to underpin it, and contribute to our efforts to increase young people's engagement with local democracy.

Voter Participation

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to encourage more young people to vote; and if she will make a statement.

John Denham: I have asked the Children and Young People's Unit to work with young people to identify what needs to change to encourage more young people to vote and to develop an agenda for action. On 29 October a group of young people came together from across England to present their initial views to Government, the Electoral Commission and representatives of political parties. The unit, working closely with the Electoral Commission and the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, will be extending the consultation with young people and key stakeholders over the coming months with a view to producing conclusions and recommendations for further action in the spring of 2002.

Pre-school Work

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people completed certified courses for pre-school work in 200102; and how many she estimates are certified for pre-school work.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Education and Skills does not yet hold information regarding the number of people who have completed accredited courses for pre-school work in 200102.
	We estimate that presently there are 147,004 people certified for pre-school work to at least the levels required by the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding. Additionally, there are 72,300 people registered to work as child minders. The total excludes volunteers.
	Source:
	Preliminary findings from a recently commissioned work force survey to be published early next year.

Pupil Exclusions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information she has collated about the linkage between exclusion and the number of criminal offences committed by under-18s.

Stephen Timms: My Department does not specifically collate any information about the linkage between exclusion and the number of criminal offences committed by under-18s.
	However, the Home Office, which lead on Youth Crime issues, have carried out a number of research projects in this area. The latest of these is the report The independent effects of permanent exclusion from school on the offending careers of young people, Home Office (RDS Occasional Paper No 71). MORI's (2001) Youth Survey 2001 for the Youth Justice Board also examines the link between exclusion and crime.

Pupil Exclusions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many decisions taken by schools in the Buckingham constituency permanently to exclude pupils were reversed by independent appeal panels in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The information for Buckinghamshire local education authority is shown in the table.
	Parliamentary constituencies figures are calculated by adding figures from all the schools in the constituency together. As exclusion appeals are collected at local education authority level and not at school level they cannot be aggregated into parliamentary constituencies.
	
		
			 School year Number of appeals lodged Number of appeals heard  Number of successful appeals 
		
		
			 199697 1 1 0 
			 199798 12 8 3 
			 199899 9 9 3 
			 19992000 10 8 4

Pre-school Funding

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 643W, on pre-school funding, if she will place the Ofsted and QCA advice referred to in the Library.

Margaret Hodge: Any documentary information relating to the advice given has now been archived. The relevant files have been called for and appropriate information identified will be placed in the Library.

Teaching Posts

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching posts are (a) vacant and (b) filled by supply, temporary and agency teachers in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the Buckingham constituency.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Full-time teacher vacancies in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in the Buckinghamshire local education authority in January 2001 were:
	Nursery and primary: 21
	Secondary: 33.
	Teachers with contracts of less than one month in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in the Buckinghamshire local education authority, working for the whole day on 18 January 2001, were:
	Nursery and primary: 59
	Secondary: 51.
	Agency teachers with contracts of one month or more are not recorded separately.

ICT Spending

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the amount was (a) in total and (b) per pupil spent on information and communications technology in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

John Healey: This information is not held by the Department on a constituency basis. However, expenditure on ICT in schools in England has been collected annually since 1998 and is shown in the table:
	
		
			 Expenditure on ICT 199798 199899 19992000 200001 
		
		
			 Primary schools 
			 in total ( million) 68 125 150 186 
			 per pupil () 15 32 37 42 
			  
			 Secondary schools 
			 in total ( million) 143 161 177 210 
			 per pupil () 46 53 56 66

Teachers (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new teachers have been employed in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the form requested. Teachers in full or part-time regular service in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools sector in Buckinghamshire local education authority area, in the March of the year after they qualified, by year of entry to teaching, were as follows:
	
		
			  199798 199899 19992000(48) 
		
		
			 Nursery and primary 110 80 110 
			 Secondary 90 130 100 
		
	
	(48) Data are provisional. 19992000 is the latest year for which information is available.
	Note:
	1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. The figures may exclude some part-time teachers who are not members of the teachers pension scheme.

National Grid for Learning

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much National Grid for Learning funding has been granted to schools in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

John Healey: National Grid for Learning funding through the Standards Fund commenced in 199899. Funding is allocated to local education authorities and information is not kept on a constituency basis. Since 1998 schools in Buckinghamshire have benefited from the following allocations (including match funding from the LEA):
	
		
			 Year  million 
		
		
			 199899 1.25 
			 19992000 1.125 
			 200001 1.694 
			 200102 2.032 
		
	
	Through Buckinghamshire's membership of the South East Grid for Learning consortium, its schools have also benefited from a share of 5,051 million of National Grid for Learning funding allocated in 200001 and 6.256 million in 200102 to equip them with broadband internet connections.

Pupil Referral/Learning Support Units

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the (a) pupil referral units and (b) learning support units which are based in the Buckingham constituency indicating (i) staffing levels and (ii) number of places in each case.

Stephen Timms: Buckingham has the following Pupil Referral Units (PRUs):
	
		
			 Name of unit Number of teaching staff Number of non-teaching staff 
		
		
			 Aylesbury Vale Primary PRUAylesbury 3 1.9 
			 Aylesbury Vale Secondary PRUAylesbury 5 3.2 
			 Chilbec PRUChesham 3.8 1.5 
			 The Oaks PRUAmersham 2 1 
			 Woodlands PRUHigh Wycombe 4.5 4 
			 Wycombe Grange PRUHigh Wycombe 9 8 
		
	
	These staffing levels do not include the Home Tuition and Hospital Teaching Service staff who are managed via the PRU Service.
	Capacity in the PRUs is flexible to enable unpredictable demand for places to be met. For example, Key Stage 4 pupils are offered a range of off-site provision, including work experience and college courses. In addition, pupils may be supported on site in their own schools as well as off-site at the PRUs. Last year a total of 764 pupils were supported by the Buckinghamshire PRUs.
	Buckingham's Learning Support Units (LSUs) are as follows:
	
		
			 Name of school Number of teaching staff Number of non-teaching staff 
		
		
			 Buckingham SchoolBuckingham 1 2 
			 Chesham Park Community SchoolChesham 1 2 
			 Cressex SchoolHigh Wycombe 1 2 
			 Holmer Green Upper SchoolHolmer Green 1 1 
			 Mandeville SchoolAylesbury 1 2 
			 Quarrendon SchoolAylesbury 1 2 
		
	
	For the LSUs, DfES guidance on capacity is as follows:
	A maximum of 10 Key Stage 3 pupils working in the centre at any one time;
	Pupils to spend no more than 50 per cent. of their time in the centre;
	Support is provided to pupils in class;
	This intensive support is provided for approximately one term.
	Therefore each Learning Support Unit is able to support a minimum of 30 pupils each academic year.

Special Educational Needs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases concerning schools in the Buckingham constituency were heard by the Special Educational Needs Tribunal in each year since 1997, indicating in how many cases the Tribunal ruled that additional support should be provided for children with special needs.

Ivan Lewis: The Special Educational Needs Tribunal records appeals for individual local education authorities (LEAs), rather than individual constituencies. The following table shows the number of appeals involving Buckinghamshire LEA in each year since 199697 together with information about the number of appeals withdrawn, decided or outstanding and information about the number of cases which were upheld. A case is listed as upheld when any of the points at issue are decided in the parents' favour.
	
		SEN Tribunal cases against Buckinghamshire LEA(49)1 September 199631 August 2001 
		
			  199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001 Total years 
		
		
			 Total number of appeals 18 19 19 22 19 97 
			 Total number withdrawn 10 12 10 15 13 60 
			 Total decided 9 6 9 7 5 36 
			 Outstanding 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Total decisions upheld(50) 4 5 9 7 4 29 
			 Total decisions dismissed(51) 5 1 0 0 1 7 
		
	
	(49) Buckinghamshire was involved in the re-organisation of LEAs on 1 March 1998. These figures include appeal for this LEA before the changes.
	(50) Upheld are those appeals where the Tribunal ruled, in whole or in part, in favour of the appellant.
	(51) Dismissed are those appeals where the Tribunal ruled in favour of the LEA.

Special Educational Needs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been made available to schools in the Buckingham constituency from the Special Educational Needs Standards Fund.

Ivan Lewis: Standards Fund grant is allocated to local education authorities (LEAs), rather than individual constituencies. It is for individual LEAs to decide how they will use their grant but we expect them to work in partnership with their schools when deciding their special educational needs priorities.
	In 200102, Buckinghamshire local education authority received 647,509 from the Standards Fund for pupils with special educational needs or who cannot attend school because of illness or injury or who are in public care. This allocation will increase by 11 per cent. to 717,443 in 200203. It will be available for a range of issues, for example training and preparation for the new SEN and Disability Codes of Practice, and improving partnership working between schools, LEAs and health and social services.

Special Educational Needs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many special needs status (a) primary and (b) secondary school children there were (i) nationally and (ii) in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Buckingham constituency England  
			  Pupils with statements SEN pupils without statements Pupils with statements SEN pupils without statements 
		
		
			  Maintained primary schools 
			 1997 113 819 63,551 759,449 
			 1998 112 1,042 67,014 821,342 
			 1999 118 1,063 69,797 859,742 
			 2000 88 1,081 72,525 885,952 
			 2001 91 1,102 73,144 898,601 
			  
			  Maintained secondary schools 
			 1997 64 396 70,080 442,024 
			 1998 75 394 73,956 479,675 
			 1999 43 294 77,330 514,386 
			 2000 93 563 79,788 541,406 
			 2001 87 585 80,919 557,342 
		
	
	Note:
	Special educational needs data are as reported by schools.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people were employed in her Department in each of the last four years.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 256W.

Ritalin

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimates he has made of the number of prescriptions issued for Ritalin for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among children with a statement of special educational needs attending schools in the Buckingham constituency.

Ivan Lewis: Estimates are not made centrally of the number of children with statements who have prescriptions for Ritalin for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Class Sizes

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans the Government have (a) to continue the restriction on class sizes for infant schools and (b) to fund the class size initiative in the long term.

John Healey: Since September 2001 it has been a statutory responsibility for schools and local education authorities to limit the size of infant classes for five, six and seven-year-olds taught by one teacher to no more than 30.
	Class size grant will be paid to local education authorities as a ring-fenced grant through the Standards Fund in 200102 and 200203. Funding levels for 200304 will be decided in the Spending Review 2002.

Assaults on Teachers

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what initiatives the Government are undertaking to reduce the incidence of abuse by parents against teachers.

Stephen Timms: Legal remedies already exist to combat abuse by parents and others against teachers. These include injunctions, and prosecution for criminal damage, common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The Government have made a specific grant for school security available to all local education authorities in England since 1998. This could be used to support personal safety training for teachers and others to protect themselves from assaults. The Department has consulted on extending the use of parenting orders to situations where children manifest poor behaviour in school, and where parents need to play more of a role in setting boundaries for them. We are currently considering the responses. The relevant authorities in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are responsible for drawing up their own education policies.

Early Years Provision (Staffordshire)

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many free nursery places were not taken up in Staffordshire in the 200001 academic year;
	(2)  what representations she has received from Staffordshire on early years development funding in this financial year; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: In 200001 financial year Staffordshire spent all the funding made available to them by the DfES for the provision of free early education places for three-year-olds. They were initially allocated 225,040 to provide 194 free early education places for three-year-olds. However, a further 172,000 was made available so that by spring 2001 they were able to fund 511 early education places for three-year-olds.
	In 200102 Staffordshire were initially allocated 1,344,816 of funding to provide 1,132 places. Officials at Staffordshire local education authority wrote to the Department after this allocation requesting further funding be made available to Staffordshire to provide more free, early education places for three-year-olds. Funding has recently been increased by 226,000 and by the spring term 2002 Staffordshire will be able to fund 2,066 places.

Exceptionally Able Children

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her policy is on ensuring that individual schools have resources to provide for the needs of exceptionally able children; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Schools within Excellence in Cities areas and Excellence Clusters receive specific grant for the gifted and talented strand of those initiatives. Local education authorities and education action zones also receive specific funding for our national summer schools programme; otherwise, we look to schools and local education authorities to meet the costs of educating exceptionally able pupils from their general budgets. From next summer, the Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth will provide a range of opportunities for such pupils and their teachers. Several resources that benefit gifted and talented pupils more generally are already in place.

Basic Needs Assessment (Surrey)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what date she will send her formal response to Surrey's basic needs assessment application.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on all basic need applications were due to be notified to local education authorities on Wednesday, 19 December 2001.

F40

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will meet representatives of the F40 group to discuss (a) the provision of an interim financial award for F40 authorities and (b) F40 proposals for funding from 200304 onwards.

Stephen Timms: The overall local government finance settlement for 200203 is a good one for education: over 1.3 billion extra in Education Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs); a further increase in Standards Fund grant of almost 160 million; and an increase in the direct grant for schools of 2.75 per cent. In the context of this settlement, there is less need for special grant support from Government than there was in 200102. I will be meeting a group of representatives of the F40 group in the spring to discuss the new funding system for 200304.

Citizenship Lessons

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what funds have been allocated for training qualified teachers to teach citizenship lessons in secondary schools;
	(2)  how many teachers are being trained to teach citizenship lessons; and how many teachers will be qualified to teach citizenship lessons in September 2002.

Stephen Timms: A total of 27 million was made available through the Standards Fund directly to schools to prepare for implementing Citizenship and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) between 200001 (12 million) and 200102 (15 million). With local education authority matched funding, schools are able to spend this in the way that best meets their needs, including spending on teachers' professional development, for example on courses run by citizenship organisations.
	167 teacher training places were made available by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) at the beginning of the 200102 academic year. Of this, 147 trainees are currently undertaking the one year programme to become citizenship teachers. On successfully completing their course, they will be able to take up a teaching post in September 2002. There are likely to be in excess of 150 trainee places available next year. Many existing teachers are, of course, already teaching aspects of citizenship through other subjects.

Special Grants Allocation

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the special grants allocation for schools is to continue next year.

Stephen Timms: Yes. School Standards Grant (SSG) will continue in 200203. SSG rates for next year will be as follows:
	
		
			 Pupils  
		
		
			 Primary  
			 Up to 100 7,200 
			 101200 13,900 
			 201400 24,700 
			 401600 30,900 
			 601+ 49,400 
			   
			 Secondary  
			 Up to 600 59,600 
			 6011,200 72,000 
			 1201+ 84,300 
			   
			 Special  
			 Up to 100 20,600 
			 101+ 28,800 
		
	
	SSG will continue in 200304, uprated by a further 2.75 per cent.

Student Finance

David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects her review of student finance to be completed; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to announce the outcome of the review this year.

Key Stage Results

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will publish the findings of her inquiry into the release of the 2001 Key Stage results.

Stephen Timms: Further to the reply I gave on 27 November 2001, Official Report, column 782W, a statement will be made on the outcome of the inquiry before the end of January.

Teacher Vacancies

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teacher vacancies there are in England, broken down by LEA area; and in each case what the figure is expressed as a percentage of the establishment figure.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on the 19 November 2001, Official Report, columns 5960W.

Sure Start

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the Sure Start programmes in the constituency of Buckingham indicating the amount spent on each scheme.

Jacqui Smith: There are no Sure Start programmes in the constituency of Buckingham.

A-Levels

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the proportion of students achieving (a) 1 and (b) 13 A-E grades at A-level was (i) nationally and (ii) at schools and colleges based in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997; and if she will provide breakdowns of those figures between (A) independent schools and colleges and (B) state schools and colleges.

Ivan Lewis: Of the 17-year-old candidates who attempted at least one GCE A-level, the proportion who achieved (a) only 1 and (b) 13 passes at grade A to E in England and the Buckingham constituency since 1997 are shown in the table:
	
		
			  1 only 13 4 or more 
		
		
			 England
			 199697
			 All schools and colleges 12.2 70.4 24.4 
			 Independent schools 4.9 66.9 31.8 
			 State schools and colleges 13.6 71.1 23.1 
			 
			 199798
			 All schools and colleges 12.2 68.8 26.4 
			 Independent schools 5.2 66.3 32.5 
			 State schools and colleges 13.4 69.2 25.3 
			 
			 199899
			 All schools and colleges 11.8 68.0 27.5 
			 Independent schools 5.3 66.0 32.9 
			 State schools and colleges 13.0 68.3 26.6 
			 
			 19992000
			 All schools and colleges 12.1 66.4 29.1 
			 Independent schools 5.8 64.7 34.2 
			 State schools and colleges 13.2 66.7 28.2 
			 
			 200001
			 All schools and colleges 11.8 66.1 29.7 
			 Independent schools 5.0 64.4 34.8 
			 State schools and colleges 13.0 66.4 28.8 
			 
			 Buckingham
			 199697
			 All schools and colleges 8.6 77.2 18.3 
			 Independent schools 6.9 92.4 4.8 
			 State schools and colleges 9.8 67.0 27.4 
			 
			 199798
			 All schools and colleges 10.2 86.8 9.8 
			 Independent schools 7.4 94.9 2.9 
			 State schools and colleges 12.2 81.0 14.8 
			 
			 199899
			 All schools and colleges 13.4 83.0 14.2 
			 Independent schools 8.0 92.0 5.6 
			 State schools and colleges 16.3 78.0 18.9 
			 
			 19992000
			 All schools and colleges 9.0 86.0 12.0 
			 Independent schools 2.7 92.5 6.8 
			 State schools and colleges 13.7 81.2 15.7 
			 
			 200001
			 All schools and colleges 12.2 84.6 13.3 
			 Independent schools 6.9 89.0 10.3 
			 State schools and colleges 15.5 82.0 15.1

Key Stage 2

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the proportion of school pupils achieving level 4 at Key Stage 2 in (a) English and (b) Maths was (i) nationally and (ii) from schools based in the Buckingham constituency in the latest year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above in the Key Stage 2 tests in 2001 in Buckingham and nationally.
	
		Percentage 
		
			   England Buckingham 
		
		
			 English test 75 84 
			 Mathematics test 71 79

Homework Clubs

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many homework clubs have been set up in schools in England.

Stephen Timms: The Department does not collect statistics on homework clubs in schools: setting these up is a matter for local decision. We do, however, encourage schools to provide opportunities for young people to enrich their learning through out-of-school-hours activities. Extending Opportunity: a national framework for study support, published in 1998, set out the contribution homework clubs can make to a school's wider programme of out-of-school-hours learning activities. We also published Homework Guidelines, which require school homework policies to refer to any opportunities that exist for pupils to do homework, under supervision, at places other than home. The homework area on the Department's Standards website supplements the guidelines with examples of good practice and case studies.

Education At Home

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance she has given to local education authorities about the funding of children educated at home; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Education at home includes either: home-tuition provided by local education authorities, or pupils who are being home-educated by their parents.
	As regards the former, local education authorities have to provide home-tuition in some circumstances to children of school compulsory age who by reason of illness, exclusion from school or otherwise are not receiving suitable education. Under the Financing of Maintained Schools Regulations 2001, LEAs are free to retain resources centrally for the education of those pupils who are educated otherwise than in a school. This may encompass those who are educated in a pupil referral unit, or at home. Guidance about transferring funding was issued in November 1999, entitled School Inclusion: the LEA role in Pupil Support, supplement circular 11/99.
	As regards the latter, there are no funds directly available from central Government and local education authorities are under no legal duty to provide financial support to parents who elect to home-educate their children. However, advice from the Department has been compiled in a fact sheet sent on request, and some LEAs do provide free national curriculum materials and other support to parents. The level and extent of such support is decided locally, based on the authority's own policies and the needs of the child.

Greenwich Judgment

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what powers she has to prevent local education authorities from breaching the Greenwich judgment.

Stephen Timms: All admission authorities for schools must consult annually over their proposed admission arrangements. After completion of this process, an admission authority may object to the independent schools adjudicator about another admission authority's determined arrangements. In considering any objection, the adjudicator must be mindful of whether the arrangements being objected to are lawful. Complaints about the lawfulness of admission arrangements may also be made to the Secretary of State who has powers, under section 497 of the Education Act 1996, to intervene if either a local education authority or governing body has acted, or is proposing to act, unlawfully.

Further Education

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions she has had on improving pay and conditions for further education lecturers.

Margaret Hodge: The Secretary of State and her ministerial colleagues have had a number of meetings in recent months with representatives of the Association of Colleges (AoC), NATFHE, the lecturers' union, and Unison, the public service union.
	Discussion at these meetings covered a wide range of issues about the further education sector, including the teaching pay initiative and the funding made available to colleges to support lecturers' continuing professional development. These measures recognise the importance of attracting new staff to the profession and rewarding and retaining excellent teachers.

Further Education

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what budget has been allocated via the teaching pay initiative to (a) sixth form colleges and (b) general further education colleges for the financial years (i) 200102, (ii) 200203 and (iii) 200304; what criteria were used in allocating this budget; and if she will make it her policy to consolidate these budgets for future financial years.

Margaret Hodge: The budget for the Teaching Pay Initiative (TPI) is shown in the following table:
	
		 million 
		
			   200102 200203 200304 
		
		
			 Sixth form colleges 11 15 18 
			 General FE colleges 54 90 117 
			  
			 Total 65 105 135 
		
	
	In 200102 each sixth form college and general FE college has received a share of the TPI budget for the relevant category that has been calculated in proportion to its main funding allocation from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Colleges have also been given indicative TPI allocations for 200203 and 200304 that provide 25 per cent. more funding in 200203 than in 200102 and a further 25 per cent. in 200304. These provide guaranteed minimum funding levels and precise amounts will be agreed with each college by the LSC.
	It is for individual colleges, as independent organisations, to decide whether to consolidate TPI awards into pensionable pay. The three-year funding commitment that has already been made is designed partly to give confidence to colleges that they can consolidate TPI pay awards if they wish. Funding beyond 200304 will need to recognise that TPI arrangements represent on-going commitments for colleges and that increases awarded to teachers will not be removed.

Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools there were at 31 December in (a) each year since 1997 and (b) at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The available information is shown in the table.
	
		Number of schools in England at January each year, 1997 to 2001
		
			  Primary(52) Secondary(52) Nursery(53) Special(54) Pupil referral units Independent(55) 
		
		
			 1997 18,392 3,569 546 1,239 309 2,271 
			 1998 18,312 3,567 535 1,229 309 2,242 
			 1999 18,234 3,560 522 1,209 298 2,229 
			 2000 18,158 3,550 516 1,197 295 2,202 
			 2001 18,069 3,481 508 1,175 308 2,203 
		
	
	(52) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(53) Includes two Direct Grant Nursery schools.
	(54) Includes Maintained and Non-Maintained Special Schools.
	(55) Includes City Technology Colleges.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census returns completed on the third Thursday of January each year.

New Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the extent of the use of the provision in the Education Bill concerning the establishment of new schools.

Stephen Timms: The Education Bill provides that a local education authority in England may, with the approval of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, publish a notice inviting proposals for the establishment of an additional secondary school. The need for new schools varies from year to year, but we estimate that in an average year the demand for additional secondary schools would not exceed single figures.

Medical School Admissions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps have been taken by medical schools over the past five years to improve accessibility of courses to people with disabilities.

Margaret Hodge: Under the Medical Act 1983, university medical schools are required to ensure that students are fit to practise as doctors when they graduate. To this end, in February 1999 the Council of Heads of Medical Schools issued guidance on admissions making it clear that a disability should not be a bar to becoming a doctor provided it did not impair fitness to practise. More generally, medical schools willwith the rest of universitiesbe subject from September 2002 to the provisions of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001.

Youth Parliament

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will respond to the UK Youth Parliament Manifesto; and if she will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Government will respond to the UK Youth Parliament's Manifesto.

John Denham: I shall be responding shortly.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Waste Management

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's position is on the inclusion of incineration within local authority waste plans.

Michael Meacher: holding answer 3 July 2001
	In order to achieve more recycling the Government set statutory targets in March under Best Value for local authorities to double the amount of household waste recycled by 200304 and treble it by 200506. This has been reinforced in the guidelines on Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects, which stress that recycling and composting must be at the heart of new applications for waste facilities. Incineration should only be considered where recycling is not feasible or not the best practicable environmental option.

Flooding

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures the Government have taken to improve the state of drains and sewers to cope with long-term flooding.

Michael Meacher: Sewerage undertakers have a duty under section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991 to drain their area effectually and this duty is enforceable by the Secretary of State or the Director General of Water Services. However, there can be practical or financial constraints. The duty in the 1991 Act is not, therefore, considered to be an absolute requirement on undertakers to prevent sewer flooding in all circumstances. Each undertaker is expected to set priorities for work which may be necessary. Ofwat and my officials are currently examining the causes of sewer flooding and possible remedies. Ofwat will publish a paper on the issue early in 2002.

Flooding

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which agencies are responsible for handling flooding in areas where there is no river.

Elliot Morley: The emergency response to flooding, from whatever source, is led by local authorities in partnership with the emergency services and bodies that are responsible for the source of the flooding.
	The Environment Agency has permissive powers to undertake flood defence measures in relation to main rivers and the sea. The Agency is also responsible for issuing flood warnings and has a general supervisory duty over all matters relating to flood defence. Local authorities or, where they exist, internal drainage boards, have flood defence powers on ordinary watercourses.
	Sewerage undertakers are generally responsible for dealing with flooding from sewerage systems while the relevant highways authority is responsible for road drainage systems. Flooding from groundwater can arise for disparate reasons and there is no single body responsible for such flooding. However, the Environment Agency may be able to provide hydrological information and advice in relation to serious problems with the water table and the existence of local springs.

Flooding

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Association of British Insurers in relation to the agreement between the Government and the ABI to ensure flood cover is provided in respect of previously flooded properties.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 18 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson) on 23 November 2001, Official Report, column 519W.

Flooding

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what was the cost to the Environment Agency and its predecessor bodies of inland flood defence in England and Wales in (a) 1971, (b) 1979, (c) 1989, (d) 1995 and (e) 2000.

Elliot Morley: Information is not readily available for 1971 or 1979. For the other years, the available information relates to all flood defences and it is not possible to provide separate figures for inland flood defences.
	The Environment Agency, and its predecessor body the National Rivers Authority, spent the following total sums on inland, tidal and coastal flood defence for the years in question as follows:
	
		
			 Year  million 
		
		
			 198990 163.8 
			 199596 250.1 
			 200001 274.4

Flooding

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of properties affected by inland flooding in 2000 were not given prior flood warning by the Environment Agency.

Elliot Morley: I understand that between September and mid-November 2000, the Environment Agency's Automatic Voice Messaging (AVM) system delivered messages to 85,715 locations with a success rate of between 75 and 80 per cent. This was a five-fold increase from the 15 per cent. success rate at the time when the agency became responsible for flood warnings in 1996.
	Following the autumn 2000 floods, as part of its usual practice of monitoring its flood warning performance, the agency undertook 'post event' surveys in 13 areas where in excess of 100 properties had experienced flooding. A total of 1,493 interviews were conducted. Of those who had experienced flooding 60 per cent. received a warning prior to the event (91 per cent. of whom received more than two hours notice).
	The agency offers the full Flood Warning Service which encompasses both direct methods (AVM, flood wardens, loud hailers, sirens) and indirect methods (broadcast media, Floodline service). Out of a total of 1.9 million properties situated in the natural floodplain of England and Wales, currently some 1.2 million properties receive the full Flood Warning Service. This represents an increase of 325,000 properties covered by the full Flood Warning Service since 2000.

Flooding

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings she has had with insurers regarding the floods in October; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government continue to maintain close links with the insurance industry to help ensure continued availability of affordable flood cover. There is an agreement among Association of British Insurers (ABI) member companies that they will continue to provide flood cover, except in exceptional circumstances, for domestic properties and small businesses which they currently insure, during 2001 and 2002. Cases where there is an alleged breach of this agreement have been referred by DEFRA to the ABI for investigation. However, it must be recognised that insurance companies need to take a commercial decision as to what risk they will cover and on what terms. Also, the insurance industry is a competitive one and customers may need to shop around to obtain the best deal. My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and I had previously met the ABI on 5 September to discuss our mutual aim of ensuring that affordable flood insurance cover continues to be generally available after December 2002. Ministers have not had a further meeting with ABI since the floods of October but discussions continue at official level.

Flooding

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria a watercourse must meet for it to become the responsibility of the Environment Agency; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency has permissive powers to undertake flood defence works on main rivers. On ordinary watercourses these powers reside with local authorities or, where they exist, with internal drainage boards.
	There are no objective criteria for deciding whether a particular watercourse should be designated as main river or ordinary watercourse, although the rivers presenting the most significant flood risk will tend to be 'enmained'. The initiative for 'enmaining' rivers rests with the Environment Agency and their Regional and Local Flood Defence Committees.

Flooding

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many properties in Essex suffered loss or damage from the floods on the rivers Blackwater, Colne and tributaries in October.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency reports that some 612 residential and commercial properties were flooded from the main rivers of Colne and Blackwater/Pant during October 2001. Details are not readily available for flooding from ordinary watercourses or overland flow.

Hunting

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received against the recommencement of hunting following the foot and mouth outbreak.

Alun Michael: I have met with the Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals which incorporated representatives from the RSPCA, League against Cruel Sports and International Fund for Animal Welfare. Correspondence has also been received from the Hunt Saboteurs Association, Protection of Wild Animals and the New Forest Animal Protection Group. A number of individuals have also written to the Department. In general, those who oppose hunting have made clear their continued opposition to hunting per se, but appreciate that our own decision is entirely about the extent to which activities that were allowed before the advent of foot and mouth disease can be permitted within the disease control measures that are necessary to eradicate the disease.

Hunting

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice she has issued to farmers and landowners concerning liability for losses should foot and mouth be spread by hunts on their land.

Elliot Morley: The Department has not issued any advice to farmers concerning liability for losses connected with any activity which might cause the spread of foot and mouth disease. The decision on whether to allow hunts onto their land is one for individual farmers and landowners. The Department of course continues to urge farmers to maintain strict biosecurity at all times.

Correspondence

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many letters from right hon. and hon. Members received more than four months ago have not been given a substantive reply.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 7 November 2001
	Of letters received over four months ago (i.e. 19 June 19 September) 1,370 have not yet been given a substantive reply. In this period the Department received 2,874 letters from right hon. and hon. Members.

Correspondence

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the letters of the hon. Member for Vale of York of (a) 15 May on behalf of Mr. R. Corner of Bedale, concerning the foot and mouth epidemic, (b) 5 June on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Pearson of Bedale, concerning the foot and mouth epidemic, (c) 21 June on behalf of Mrs. P. Crosby of Thirsk, concerning the foot and mouth epidemic, (d) 11 July on behalf of Mr. Peter Winston of Sullivan Agriculture Ltd., York, concerning the foot and mouth epidemic, (e) 17 July on behalf of Mr. D. Creer of Wigginton, York, concerning the Policy Commission on Food and Farming, (f) 3 August on behalf of Mr. R. J. H. Cobbold of Harrogate, concerning the foot and mouth epidemic, (g) 8 August on behalf of Mrs. I. Wilkinson of York, concerning the foot and mouth epidemic and (h) 18 September on behalf of Mr. John Trenholme of Thirsk, concerning the foot and mouth epidemic, have not been replied to; and if she will send responses to each constituent before 19 December.

Elliot Morley: All of the above letters were responded to by 19 December with the exception of the 21 June letter on behalf of Mrs. P. Crosby of Thirsk, concerning the foot and mouth epidemic. We will respond to this as soon as possible.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to all Members of Parliament on 14 November explaining the scale of the current problems faced by those dealing with Members' correspondence within the Department and setting out the mechanisms put in place to overcome these problems.

Correspondence

Marion Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the hon. Member for Broxbourne will receive a reply to her letters of 14 June, 11 July, 10 August, 20 September, 18 October, 16 November and 12 December, relating to correspondence from her constituent, Mr. I Dukes of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The hon. Member's letters were transferred to the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) on 28 December 2001 for a reply as the issues raised falls under their remit.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to all Members of Parliament on 14 November explaining the scale of the current problems faced by the Correspondence Section and setting out the mechanisms put in place to overcome these problems.

Correspondence

Marion Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the hon. Member for Broxbourne will receive a reply to her letters of 17 July, 16 August, 13 September, 11 October, 16 November and 12 December, relating to correspondence from her constituent, Mr. Stan Kitchiner, of Cuffley, Hertfordshire.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 December 2001
	My noble Friend Lord Whitty replied to the letters dated 17 July, 16 August, 13 September, 11 October, 16 November and 12 December from the hon. Member for Broxbourne on 20 December.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to all hon. Members of Parliament on 14 November explaining the scale of the current problems faced by the Correspondence Section and setting out the mechanisms put in place to overcome these problems.

Public-Private Partnerships

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the projects in her Department which have been considered as potential public-private partnerships since 1997 which have not been undertaken because the public sector comparator had a lower net present value than the public private partnership proposed; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: In our 1997 reforms of PFI, the Government abandoned the requirement to submit all capital projects to PFI testing. Accordingly, it will be concluded at a very early stage in the option appraisal process whether a PPP approach is likely to deliver value for money (vfm); where it is not, a public sector comparator (PSC) will not be constructed. Only when it is concluded, following careful consideration, that PPP is likely to offer value for money, will a PSC normally be developed.
	Against this background, and with the maturing of the PPP process and the PPP market, it is likely that a high proportion of projects which do embark on the PPP route will contract on that basis, with competition helping to secure value for money and the PSC acting as a quantitative aid to informing judgment.
	PPP deals continue to account for only a small proportion of the total sums invested to improve the delivery of public services. Public sector gross investment is projected to rise from 19 billion in 200001 to 35.2 billion in 200304. Over the same period, capital investment by the private sector through PFI will be about 3 billion annually.
	From information held centrally the Department is not aware of any potential public private partnerships which have not been undertaken because the public sector comparator had a lower net present value than the public private partnership proposed.

Farm Diversification

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to public funds to date has been of the measures to assist in farm diversification as set out in Planning Consultancy Advice for Farm Diversification, published by her Department.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 8 November 2001
	This scheme was launched on 12 September 2001 and has attracted a good level of interest from farmers. To date DEFRA has received 113 applications for planning consultancy advice, of which 62 have been approved so far. The cases approved have yet to result in any claims on public funds, which are only made once the consultant's work has been completed and the farmer satisfied with the service provided.

Farm Diversification

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers have taken up the Department's offer of free advice to help them diversify.

Elliot Morley: With regard to Free Planning Advice for farmers pursuing a viable diversification project, which was launched in September, to date we have received 373 applications; 237 of these have been approved; 97 are currently being processed.
	In addition, the Farm Business Advice Service, which was introduced in October 2000 under the Action Plan for Farming and consists of three days of free on-farm business advice, is available to help farmers take stock of their businesses and decide on the future directionwhether it is improving their business, diversifying or leaving the industry. Since its launch, 7,613 farms have requested the service, 4,637 farms have received an initial diagnostic visit and 2,851 farms have received the full three-day service resulting in an Action Plan.

Foot and Mouth

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about failures to pay slaughter premium on cattle slaughtered during the foot and mouth outbreak.

Elliot Morley: Slaughter premium is not payable on cattle slaughtered during the foot and mouth outbreak but if the market value for such animals would have been influenced by expectation of slaughter premium then the valuation for compensation should reflect this. Standard valuations, which operated between 22 March and 29 July, took account of slaughter premium.
	The Department will shortly be issuing clarification to interested parties.

Foot and Mouth

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  on how many premises culling took place of (a) cattle, (b) sheep, (c) pigs and (d) other animals under the (i) infected premises, (ii) dangerous contact, (iii) slaughter on suspicion and (iv) contiguous cull schemes operating during the foot and mouth disease outbreak broken down by (A) county and (B) region; and how many samples were taken and how many positive tests were found at each premises;
	(2)  how many (a) infected premises and (b) contiguous premises were recorded during the foot and mouth disease outbreak broken down by (i) county and (ii) region; and how many samples were collected in each case.

Margaret Beckett: I will place the information requested in the Library of the House today.

Foot and Mouth

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date she intends to disband her Department's teams of foot and mouth disease blood testers operating in the south-west of England; what plans she has to divert foot and mouth disease blood tester personnel and resources to the testing of cattle for bovine tuberculosis in the south-west of England; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: No date has been set for disbanding the teams of blood testers for FMD in the south-west of England but as the threat from the disease diminishes there will be less need for testers.
	Under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 blood sampling for laboratory testing can be undertaken by paraprofessionals. The TB test can only be carried out by qualified veterinary surgeons who are accredited to the relevant LVI Panel. The number of blood samplers who can be diverted to TB skin testing is minimal. The only other resource that will be required for the restart of TB testing is a sufficient supply of Tuberculin to meet the projected future need.

Foot and Mouth

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many temporary veterinary inspectors have written to her about their experiences during the foot and mouth epidemic.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 11 December 2001
	We have no record of letters from temporary veterinary inspectors (TVIs) to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about their experiences during the foot and mouth outbreak. Some may have written on an individual and personal basis.

Foot and Mouth

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many farms animals have been slaughtered in relation to foot and mouth disease; and how many animals have been slaughtered by type in each case since 30 September.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 17 December 2001
	As at 17.30, 12 December 2001, 9,578 premises have been affected by foot and mouth disease ie premises which have been classified as an Infected Premises, Dangerous Contact or Slaughter on Suspicion on which slaughter of animals has occurred.
	The following table details all slaughterings on foot and mouth disease affected premises since 30 September 2001. There have been no outbreaks since that date; these figures therefore relate to slaughter on suspicion cases or to dangerous contact cases identified by surveillance bleeding.
	
		
			 Date slaughtered Cattle Sheep Pigs Goats Deer Other Total 
		
		
			 1 October 2001 0 80 0 0 0 0 80 
			 2 October 2001 0 183 0 0 0 0 183 
			 10 October 2001 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 10 October 2001 5 1,739 0 0 0 0 1,744 
			 10 October 2001 0 57 0 0 0 0 57 
			 11 October 2001 0 25 0 0 0 0 25 
			 11 October 2001 0 141 0 0 0 0 141 
			 13 October 2001 0 100 0 0 0 0 100 
			 17 October 2001 0 387 0 0 0 0 387 
			 18 October 2001 324 0 0 0 0 0 324 
			 24 October 2001 0 131 0 0 0 0 131 
			 24 October 2001 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 
			 26 October 2001 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 27 October 2001 0 247 0 0 0 0 247 
			 30 October 2001 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 31 October 2001 0 80 0 0 0 0 80 
			 1 November 2001 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 10 November 2001 0 128 0 0 0 0 128 
			 10 November 2001 0 129 0 0 0 0 129 
			 10 November 2001 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 10 November 2001 0 57 0 0 0 0 57 
			 10 November 2001 0 178 0 0 0 0 178 
			 10 November 2001 0 50 0 0 0 0 50 
			 13 November 2001 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 20 November 2001 0 60 0 0 0 0 60 
			 21 November 2001 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 27 November 2001 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 27 November 2001 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 27 November 2001 0 8 0 0 0 0 8 
			 6 December 2001 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 10 December 2001 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			  
			 Total 330 3,793 0 2 0 0 4,125 
		
	
	Source:
	DEFRA Disease Control System Database as at 17.30 12 December 2001. Figures subject to change as more data become available.

Foot and Mouth

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons animals with foot and mouth disease anti-bodies and no other symptoms of the disease were slaughtered during the foot and mouth outbreak.

Elliot Morley: Foot and mouth disease (FMD) antibodies are not found in healthy livestock in FMD free countries. Their presence indicates that the animal has been exposed to the virus. Such exposed animals could be diseased and infectious or they could be convalescent. It is also possible that a carrier state may develop in some animals which have FMD antibodies whereby the animal can carry the virus for prolonged periods and could possibly cause a recrudescence of disease. This is particularly so in the case of sheep. It is therefore essential that animals with FMD antibodies are promptly culled as part of the control mechanisms in place to eradicate FMD.

Foot and Mouth

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in Worcestershire have not yet been cleaned and disinfected after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Of the 132 premises in Worcestershire affected by Foot and Mouth disease, secondary cleansing and disinfection has been completed on 130. Significant work has been undertaken on the remaining two premises, but in both cases has been halted. No other premises in Worcestershire will require cleansing and disinfection.
	Nationally, the secondary cleansing and disinfection operation is well advanced with 88 per cent. of premises subject to secondary C and D now complete, a further 7 per cent. in progress and only 1 per cent. to start. 4 per cent. of premises will not undergo secondary C and D.

Foot and Mouth

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many foot and mouth cases there were, broken down by (a) farm and (b) animals slaughtered, by category, in each (i) constituency and (ii) local authority in 2001.

Elliot Morley: The information requested is presented in the following two tables:
	
		Table 1: Number of premises infected with foot and mouth disease and number of animals slaughtered on infected premises by constituency
		
			  Number of  Number of animals slaughtered on infected premises  
			 Constituency infected premises Cattle Sheep Pigs Goats Deer Other Total 
		
		
			 Aberavon County 1 416 2 0 0 0 0 418 
			 Banbury County 1 0 537 0 0 0 0 537 
			 Basildon Borough 1 31 0 37 0 0 0 68 
			 Berwick-upon-Tweed County 20 2,954 23,966 13 4 0 0 26,937 
			 Bishop Auckland County 44 4,194 19,481 2,808 13 0 0 26,496 
			 Blyth Valley Borough 1 0 2,000 0 0 0 0 2,000 
			 Bosworth County 4 550 112 6 0 0 0 668 
			 Bradford South Borough 2 155 0 0 0 0 0 155 
			 Braintree County 1 5 493 0 9 0 1 508 
			 Brecon and Radnorshire County 45 2,608 34,243 2 22 0 0 36,875 
			 Brentwood and Ongar County 2 206 0 308 0 0 0 514 
			 Bridgwater County 2 36 55 0 0 0 0 91 
			 Bristol North West Borough 1 0 5 1 8 0 0 14 
			 Bromsbrove County 2 253 83 0 0 0 0 336 
			 Burton County 20 2,354 2,515 62 7 0 0 4,938 
			 Caerphilly County 1 127 363 0 0 0 0 490 
			 Cannock Chase County 2 131 243 0 0 0 0 374 
			 Carlisle Borough 72 17,622 17,953 0 19 0 0 35,594 
			 Chorley County 1 0 988 0 0 0 0 988 
			 City of Durham County 3 410 1,099 0 0 0 0 1,509 
			 Congleton County 2 0 1,961 0 0 0 0 1,961 
			 Copeland County 9 791 7,411 8 1 0 0 8,211 
			 Crewe and Nantwich County 1 158 0 0 0 0 5 163 
			 Cynon Valley County 1 112 994 0 0 0 0 1,106 
			 Devizes County 9 151 2,628 0 2 0 0 2,781 
			 Dover County 2 0 2,446 0 0 0 0 2,446 
			 Dumfries County 137 24,586 64,131 136 155 0 0 89,008 
			 East Devon County 1 125 2,109 0 0 0 0 2,234 
			 Eddisbury County 4 650 1,297 0 0 0 0 1,947 
			 Forest of Dean County 48 2,987 14,121 153 0 0 0 17,261 
			 Galloway and Upper Nithsdale County 39 9,986 22,331 55 0 0 0 32,372 
			 Hereford County 31 3,461 33,019 48 3 0 0 36,531 
			 Hexham County 64 7,603 35,887 524 1 0 0 44,015 
			 Hyndburn Borough 2 25 752 0 0 0 0 777 
			 Islwyn County 1 46 74 0 0 0 0 120 
			 Keighley County 3 263 243 0 0 0 0 506 
			 Lancaster and Wyre County 2 457 49 0 0 0 0 506 
			 Leigh County 1 47 0 0 0 0 0 47 
			 Leominster County 13 947 5,456 4 0 0 0 6,407 
			 Lichfield County 6 201 2,314 1 0 0 0 2,516 
			 Ludlow County 8 1,184 4,074 0 0 0 0 5,258 
			 Macclesfield County 2 179 0 0 0 0 0 179 
			 Maldon and East Chelmsford County 1 0 604 2 0 0 0 606 
			 Medway County 2 162 765 0 0 0 0 927 
			 Mid Worcestershire County 6 421 6,819 0 0 0 0 7,240 
			 Monmouth County 23 1,876 12,828 587 0 0 0 15,291 
			 Montgomeryshire County 25 2,361 9,059 0 0 0 0 11,420 
			 Morecambe and Lunesdale County 8 1,726 2,440 0 1 0 0 4,167 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne North Borough 6 379 628 134 0 0 0 1,141 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough 1 157 150 0 0 0 0 307 
			 Newport West County 3 463 2,123 3 4 0 0 2,593 
			 North Cornwall County 3 313 1,726 0 0 0 0 2,039 
			 North Devon County 40 4,280 27,118 1 3 0 0 31,402 
			 North Essex County 2 96 2,565 2 0 0 0 2,663 
			 North Shropshire County 4 512 1,621 3 3 0 0 2,139 
			 North West Durham County 37 4,941 18,768 50 26 0 0 23,785 
			 North West Leicestershire County 1 0 1,506 0 0 0 0 1,506 
			 Northampton South Borough 1 0 558 0 0 0 0 558 
			 Northavon County 3 116 35 5,490 0 0 0 5,641 
			 Nuneaton County 2 429 1,025 0 0 0 0 1,454 
			 Oxford West and Abingdon County 1 0 266 0 0 0 0 266 
			 Pendle Borough 3 540 647 0 0 0 0 1,187 
			 Penrith and The Border County 642 113,945 302,176 2,278 115 20 0 418,534 
			 Pudsey Borough 1 75 0 0 0 0 0 75 
			 Rayleigh County 3 26 489 1,064 4 0 0 1,583 
			 Redditch Borough 2 3 153 16 0 0 0 172 
			 Ribble Valley County 37 5,378 13,586 10 6 0 133 19,113 
			 Richmond (Yorks) County 40 5,292 19,477 1,380 0 0 0 26,149 
			 Roxburgh and Berwickshire County 11 1,012 9,590 4 37 2 0 10,645 
			 Rutland and Melton County 1 0 179 0 0 0 0 179 
			 Ryedale County 1 160 2,311 0 0 0 0 2,471 
			 Scarborough and Whitby County 19 2,072 5,313 3 2 0 0 7,390 
			 Sedgefield County 9 1,020 3,774 29 0 0 0 4,823 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham County 3 137 1,340 319 0 0 0 1,796 
			 Sittingbourne and Sheppey County 1 0 347 0 0 0 0 347 
			 Skipton and Ripon County 62 7,608 41,558 16 17 0 104 49,303 
			 South Derbyshire County 8 610 782 0 34 0 0 1,426 
			 South East Cornwall County 1 69 236 70 0 0 0 375 
			 South Staffordshire County 5 105 2,870 0 0 0 0 2,975 
			 South West Devon County 1 443 0 0 0 0 0 443 
			 Stafford County 3 298 794 1,848 0 0 0 2,940 
			 Stockton South Borough 4 870 2,325 0 1 0 0 3,196 
			 Stone County 6 200 2,049 1,400 1 0 0 3,650 
			 Stroud County 12 2,053 1,263 0 0 0 0 3,316 
			 Tamworth County 2 0 2,889 0 0 0 0 2,889 
			 Tatton County 7 629 1,106 0 0 0 0 1,735 
			 Taunton County 5 249 1,202 0 358 0 0 1,809 
			 Tewkesbury County 12 815 4,714 0 0 0 0 5,529 
			 The Wrekin County 1 0 271 584 0 0 0 855 
			 Tiverton and Honiton County 9 1,004 4,233 22 5 0 6 5,270 
			 Torridge and West Devon County 122 19,112 48,497 1,653 4 0 0 69,266 
			 Upminster Borough 1 198 0 6 0 0 0 204 
			 Vale of York 11 1,065 4,138 5 8 3 0 5,219 
			 Wansbeck County 3 606 3,287 4 3 0 0 3,900 
			 Warrington North Borough 1 371 4 0 0 0 0 375 
			 Wells County 1 0 619 0 0 0 0 619 
			 West Worcestershire County 4 0 9,062 0 0 0 0 9,062 
			 Westmorland and Lonsdale County 18 1,842 12,875 0 0 0 0 14,717 
			 Workington County 152 33,509 44,186 8 3 0 0 77,706 
			 Wyre Forest County 8 975 2,115 0 0 0 0 3,090 
			 Ynys Mn County 13 636 7,296 5 0 0 0 7,937 
			  
			 Total 2,026 307,170 953,792 21,162 879 25 249 1,283,277 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of Number of animals slaughtered on infected premises  
			  Constituency  Description infected premises  Cattle  Sheep  Pigs  Goats  Deer  Other  Total 
		
		
			 Bradford District Metropolitan District 5 418 243 0 0 0 0 661 
			 Caerffili-Caerphilly Unitary Authority 2 173 437 0 0 0 0 610 
			 Casnewydd-Newport Unitary Authority 3 463 2,123 3 4 0 0 2,593 
			 Castell-Nedd Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot Unitary Authority 1 416 2 0 0 0 0 418 
			 Cheshire County County 16 1,616 4,364 0 0 0 5 5,985 
			 City of Bristol Unitary Authority 1 0 5 1 8 0 0 14 
			 Cornwall County County 4 382 1,962 70 0 0 0 2,414 
			 County of Herefordshire Unitary Authority 44 4,408 38,475 52 3 0 0 42,938 
			 Cumbria County County 893 167,709 384,601 2,294 138 20 0 554,762 
			 Darlington Unitary Authority 8 1,012 3,049 29 0 0 0 4,090 
			 Derbyshire County County 8 610 782 0 34 0 0 1,426 
			 Devon County County 173 24,964 81,957 1,676 12 0 6 108,615 
			 Dumfries and Galloway Unitary Authority 176 34,572 86,462 191 155 0 0 121,380 
			 Durham County County 85 9,553 40,073 2,858 39 0 0 52,523 
			 Essex County County 9 333 4,151 1,376 13 0 1 5,874 
			 Gloucestershire County County 72 5,855 20,098 153 0 0 0 26,106 
			 Greater London Authority Greater London Authority 1 198 0 6 0 0 0 204 
			 Kent County County 3 0 2,793 0 0 0 0 2,793 
			 Lancashire County County 53 8,126 18,462 10 7 0 133 26,738 
			 Leeds District Metropolitan District 1 75 0 0 0 0 0 75 
			 Leicestershire County County 6 550 1,797 6 0 0 0 2,353 
			 Medway Unitary Authority 2 162 765 0 0 0 0 927 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne District Metropolitan District 6 379 628 134 0 0 0 1,141 
			 North Yorkshire County County 133 16,197 72,797 1,404 27 3 104 90,532 
			 Northamptonshire County County 1 0 558 0 0 0 0 558 
			 Northumberland County County 88 11,163 65,140 541 8 0 0 76,852 
			 Oxfordshire County County 2 0 803 0 0 0 0 803 
			 Powys-Powys Unitary Authority 70 4,969 43,302 2 22 0 0 48,295 
			 Rhondda, Cynon, Taf-Rhondda, Cynon, Taff Unitary Authority 1 112 994 0 0 0 0 1,106 
			 Scottish Borders Unitary Authority 11 1,012 9,590 4 37 2 0 10,645 
			 Shropshire County County 15 1,833 7,035 322 3 0 0 9,193 
			 Sir Fynwy-Monmouthshire Unitary Authority 23 1,876 12,828 587 0 0 0 15,291 
			 Sir Ynys Mn-Isle of Anglesey Unitary Authority 13 636 7,296 5 0 0 0 7,937 
			 Somerset County County 8 285 1,876 0 358 0 0 2,519 
			 South Gloucestershire Unitary Authority 3 116 35 5,490 3 0 0 5,641 
			 Staffordshire County County 45 3,446 13,824 3,311 8 0 0 20,589 
			 Stockton-on-Tees Unitary Authority 4 870 2,325 0 1 0 0 3,196 
			 Telford and Wrekin Unitary Authority 1 0 271 584 0 0 0 855 
			 Thurrock Unitary Authority 1 31 0 37 0 0 0 68 
			 Warrington Unitary Authority 1 371 4 0 0 0 0 375 
			 Warwickshire County County 2 429 1,025 0 0 0 0 1,454 
			 Wigan District Metropolitan District 1 47 0 0 0 0 0 47 
			 Wiltshire County County 9 151 2,628 0 2 0 0 2,781 
			 Worcestershire County County 22 1,652 18,232 16 0 0 0 19,900 
			 Total  2,026 307,170 953,792 21,162 879 25 249 1,283,277 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures subject to revision as more data become available
	Source:
	DEFRA Disease Control system Database as at 21 December 2001

Foot and Mouth

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Institute of Animal Health's polymerase chain reaction test for the foot and mouth disease virus in livestock; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright has improved the speed of Foot and Mouth Disease diagnosis using polymerase chain reaction methods. This system involves the automated extraction of nucleic acid from tissues and robotic control of the reverse transcription reactions using a probe and primers capable of detecting all seven serotypes of Foot and Mouth Disease viral RNA. The results can be available in around four hours when fewer than 30 samples are tested. The sensitivity and specificity of the method is comparable with virus isolation in cell culture which takes several days.

Foot and Mouth

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will list by county (a) the number and (b) the location of individual burial pits containing the carcases of livestock slaughtered as a result of foot and mouth disease control measures;
	(2)  what her Department's policy is on the publication of the location of burial pits containing the carcases of livestock slaughtered as a result of foot and mouth disease control measures.

Elliot Morley: The Department's policy is to make available the locations and addresses of premises on which individual burial pits are sited only to third parties with a legitimate interest in the information. This interest may for example include environmental monitoring or farmer support.
	If an individual site owner consents to unlimited disclosure, the name and address of the owner and location of the site can be made publicly available.

Foot and Mouth

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when Dr. Iain Anderson's Lessons Learned Inquiry into the foot and mouth outbreak is to start; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Dr. Iain Anderson's Lessons Learned Inquiry into the foot and mouth outbreak launched its framework document on 14 December, marking the formal start of this independent inquiry.
	The Prime Minister has confirmed that he expects all Ministers and civil servants to cooperate fully with the inquiry.
	I welcome the start of the Lessons Learned Inquiry. This inquiry, and the Royal Society's independent scientific review, will be rigorous investigations of all the relevant scientific and policy issues and will enable us to establish the best way forward. We are contributing fully to the independent inquiry process.

Foot and Mouth

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) infected premises and (b) contiguous premises there were from which samples were taken during the foot and mouth disease outbreak; what was the total number of premises recorded by region in each category; how many animals in each category were culled; and, of those culled, how many returned positive tests.

Elliot Morley: I will place the information requested in the Library of the House today.

Foot and Mouth

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value is of the (a) VAT and (b) council tax deferred as a result of the economic impact of foot and mouth disease for which payment is being sought.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 6 December 2001
	There has been no change in the Government's policy on the collection of taxes due from businesses affected by foot and mouth disease. A total of 202 million of payments of income tax, VAT and national insurance contributions (of which 88 million relates to VAT) have been deferred by agreement beyond their due date without interest becoming payable. Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue continue to take a sympathetic approach, on a case-by-case basis, to recovery of the outstanding amounts.
	No records are held centrally of any council tax payments that local authorities may have agreed to defer. Partial information is available on deferred business rate payments: a survey by the Local Government Association shows that 101 local authorities have deferred rate payments from nearly 6,000 businesses, and, based on information from 54 of those authorities, estimates the value of deferred payments in their areas at around 2 million. To help authorities meet the demand to defer rate payments, the Government deferred 50 per cent. of all payments into the national rate pool from 151 rural authorities between April and August 2001.

British Meat

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Ministry of Defence to bring about an increase in the proportion of British meat supplied to the UK armed forces; what role her Department takes in developing the core list of food products available to the armed forces; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: My noble Friend Lord Whitty is currently discussing with his ministerial colleagues at the Ministry of Defence their procurement policies for meat. However, the decision as to what food products to buy for the armed forces is for the Ministry of Defence.

Sheep Annual Premium

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on farm (a) cash flow and (b) livelihoods in the Macclesfield constituency of delays in the despatch of sheep annual premium to farmers who have had a partial contiguous cull of sheep as a result of foot and mouth disease; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Sheep Annual Premium Scheme is fully funded by the European Community. In administering the scheme member states must ensure that the rules are strictly enforced to avoid disallowance of Community funding. We are conscious of the need to pay claims without undue delay, but this must be balanced with the need to safeguard taxpayers' money.
	European Community rules for farmers affected by FMD require claims to be cross-checked against veterinary records to ensure that the animals culled were eligible for premium. The majority of FMD affected claims have been paid their first advance of the premium from late July as usual. There are some cases where we require further information from claimants on the number of eligible sheep retained, including those where only part of the flock has been culled due to FMD. None of these are in the Macclesfield area.
	Additionally, claim processing on all schemes has been affected by the diversion of staff to FMD duties and industrial action.

Fair Trade

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is in relation to departmental spending for supplies concerning the purchase of fair trade goods.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 16 November 2001
	The Department's procurement policy is to achieve value for money. On the matter of fair trade policy I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) on 16 November 2001, Official Report, column 931W.

Animal Experiments

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's negotiating position on a draft Directive to control the use of animals in experiments in the EU.

Michael Meacher: I am not aware of any proposals for a Directive to control the use of animals in experiments in the EU. There are, however, proposals for new legislation to improve the control of hazardous chemicals. These proposals, which were described in the answer given to the right hon. Member on 28 November 2001, Official Report, column 1026W, are very welcome except that they have the potential to increase animal testing. We intend to avoid excessive animal testing resulting from this new legislation by pressing for companies to share data arising from animal testing, by prioritising the testing programme to focus on chemicals of greatest concern, and by making decisions, wherever possible, based on information not derived from animal testing.

Classical Swine Fever

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many samples of imported meat have been tested for the classical swine fever virus in each month since testing began.

Elliot Morley: The tests are only carried out on illegally imported meat. To date four such samples have been tested, one in October 2000, two in November 2000 and one in January 2001. The virus isolation tests for classical swine fever proved negative in all cases.

Classical Swine Fever

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of classical swine fever there were in (a) 2000 and (b) 2001, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority.

Elliot Morley: There were 16 cases of classical swine fever in the UK in 2000, as follows:
	
		
			 UK Number of cases 
		
		
			 County council  
			 Suffolk 7 
			 Norfolk 8 
			 Essex 1 
			  
			 Total 16 
			   
			 District council  
			 Suffolk, Coastal 4 
			 Waveney 3 
			 South Norfolk 4 
			 Breckland 3 
			 Broadland 1 
			 Colchester 1 
			  
			 Total 16 
			   
			 Constituency  
			 Suffolk, Coastal 6 
			 Waveney 1 
			 South Norfolk 4 
			 South-West Norfolk 1 
			 Mid-Norfolk 3 
			 Colchester 1 
			  
			 Total 16 
		
	
	There were no cases of classical swine fever in the UK in 2001.

Ministerial Visits (North-East)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times Ministers from her Department have visited (a) the Teesside area and (b) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency to meet locally based businesses.

Elliot Morley: Since the creation of the Department there have as yet been no visits by DEFRA Ministers to (a) the Teesside area, or (b) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency to meet with locally based business.

Dioxin Inhalation

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what action is being taken by her Department to compensate the workers at Dagenham for damage to their health from the inhalation of dioxins from recycled ash;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect of inhaling the level of dioxins found in fly ash at Edmonton.

Michael Meacher: Two independent health risk assessments have so far been carried out, one for the Environment Agency, and the other by consultants for the London borough of Barking and Dagenham. Neither found the ash pile to pose a serious health risk. I understand that no medical evidence has been presented to support allegations of damage to health. Therefore the question of compensation does not arise.
	The Department of Health has advised that no health impacts would be expected as a result of non-occupational exposure to the Edmonton ash at Dagenham. This advice takes into account the highest levels of dioxins measured in the ash pile.

Edmonton Incinerator

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if (a) her Department and (b) the Environment Agency advised Tarmac that it was safe for them to use fly ash from the Edmonton incinerator.

Michael Meacher: Neither the Department nor the Environment Agency can find any record of advising Tarmac on the safety of using fly ash from the Edmonton incinerator. I understand from Tarmac that they have no record of such advice.

Contaminated Meat Imports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much infected meat has been imported into the UK from countries where foot and mouth disease is endemic since 1 February.

Elliot Morley: None. EU and UK import rules do not permit entry of infected meat into the UK, and controls are in place to ensure that meat presented for checking on import is certified free of disease, including foot and mouth. When illegally imported meat is identified it is destroyed. It is not routinely tested for presence of disease agents. To our knowledge no imported meat infected with foot and mouth has ever been identified in the UK, including from countries where the disease is endemic.

Sheep and Cattle Subsidies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what grounds she will not provide a breakdown by name or holding of those who are claiming subsidy for sheep or cattle.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 5 December 2001
	It is not possible for this level of detailed personal information to be released for reasons of confidentiality and data protection.

Refrigerator Disposal

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to give financial assistance to retailers to help dispose of old fridges and freezers.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 10 December 2001
	None. However, the Department has announced a payment of 6 million to local authorities to cover their costs of storing and disposing of fridges and freezers until March 2002.

Cattle Slaughter

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many heifers will be slaughtered at or near birth in 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 10 December 2001
	It is likely that few, if any, heifers will be slaughtered at or near birth. Heifer calves are usually retained as replacement animals in dairy or suckler cow herds, or raised and fattened for slaughter at 18 months or more of age.

Fish Stocks

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what initiatives she plans to protect global fish stocks from the effects of overfishing.

Elliot Morley: The UK argues that EU decisions on the management and technical conservation of fish stocks should be in accordance with sound science. We have supported recovery plans for stocks where the science indicates this to be necessary and will continue to do so.
	More globally, the UK plays a prominent role in various Regional Fisheries Organisations (RFOs), supports efforts to increase RFOs' effectiveness and to create new ones, and supports full implementation of the UN Fisheries Agreement through RFOs.
	In relation to EU Fisheries Agreements with third countries, the UK has played a leading role in pressing for improved EU arrangements for negotiating and managing the Agreements and monitoring their effect. One of the aspects in need of improvement is the assessment of stocks and of the effect on them of fishing under the Agreements. We are pressing for there to be a comprehensive debate on the approach to these Agreements within the framework of the forthcoming review of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Fish Stocks

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment was made of the implications for (a) fish stocks and (b) the local fishing economy before the EU reached its recent agreement with the Government of Mauritania on allowing EU registered trawlers to fish off that country's coastline.

Elliot Morley: Such assessments are the responsibility of the European Commission, who wrote an evaluation report on the previous EU-Mauritania Agreement which ran from 1996 to 2001, as they do on all third country fisheries agreements that come up for renegotiation.
	The Government have no independent insight into the workings of the EU-Mauritania Agreement but have repeatedly advanced the view on behalf of the UK that the EU's general approach to negotiating, managing and monitoring such agreements needs substantial improvement. In particular, improvement is needed in the areas of scientific assessment, impact monitoring, evaluation of effect and general coherence with overseas development policy. We shall continue to press for a proper debate on the EU's approach which we hope can be achieved in the context of the forthcoming review of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Agrimonetary Compensation

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in the Buckingham constituency have received agrimonetary compensation since 1997; and what is the total amount that has been paid out.

Elliot Morley: Unfortunately, we cannot except at disproportionate cost calculate either the number of farmers who have received agrimonetary compensation, or figures restricted to the constituency of Buckingham. However, since 1997 a total amount of 6.3 million has been paid in agrimonetary compensation in the county of Buckinghamshire.

Combined Heat and Power

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent by the Government in 2001 on encouraging CHP schemes.

Michael Meacher: The Government introduced a number of measures in April 2001 to help encourage CHP schemes, including:
	the exemption of good quality CHP used on site or sold to known end users from the climate change levy,
	eligibility of good quality CHP for enhanced capital allowances on investment in energy saving technologies, and
	exemption from business rates of the electricity generating plant and machinery in CHP schemes.
	The value of each of these to CHP operators will depend on their uptake, which it is too early to estimate. In addition, the Government funds a number of other activities that promote CHP with a combined estimated cost in 200102 of around 1.5 million. These include the CHP club and the CHP quality assurance programme.

Combined Heat and Power

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress the Government have made towards reaching its CHP target of 10,000 MW by 2010.

Michael Meacher: By the end of the year 2000 there were 1,556 CHP schemes in the UK with a combined good quality CHP capacity of 4,632 MW, producing 6 per cent. of the UK's electricity requirements and delivering an estimated 3.9 MtC of carbon savings annually. The UK's current good quality CHP capacity is estimated to be around 4,700 MW.

Combined Heat and Power

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations the Government have received from industries on employment levels in the CHP sector.

Michael Meacher: The Combined Heat and Power Association, and one of their members, recently came in to talk to me about the state of the CHP industry, including job losses and threats to jobs. In addition, a number of representations were made to me by senior members of the industry when I attended the recent CHPA annual conference. I am also aware that the Minister for Industry and Energy has received similar representations from the industry.

Combined Heat and Power

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for each year since the introduction of NETA, by what percentage the export of power from CHP has changed compared with the preceding year.

Michael Meacher: The new electricity trading arrangements, which are a matter for the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Ofgem, were introduced on 27 March last year, and it is therefore too early to put a figure on the percentage of power from CHP compared with the preceding year. However, the recent report by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, Report to DTI on the Review of the Initial Impact of NETA on Smaller Generators, issued in August of this year, indicates that the export of power from CHP has reduced by around 60 per cent.

Combined Heat and Power

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on the viability of CHP of reducing the level of the climate change levy on CHP.

Andrew Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The viability of combined heat and power is dependent on many factorsthe relative prices of gas and electricity being the most important of those factors. However, as announced in the pre-Budget report, subject to legal and other constraints, the Government will consider the environmental case for providing more favourable treatment for CHP within the climate change levy.

Protection of Animals Act

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will propose amendments to the Protection of Animals Act 1911 to allow earlier intervention by enforcement authorities.

Elliot Morley: The creation of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has brought together most animal welfare laws under one roof. This provides a unique opportunity for revising these laws, including the Protection of Animals Act 1911. I have begun the review process and I hope to shortly ask those involved with animals, including welfare and commercial interests, how they would like to improve the law.

Broiler Chickens

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what type of (a) therapeutic and (b) non-therapeutic drugs were regularly given to chickens to prevent the spread of infection in the broiler chicken industry between 1995 and 2001.

Elliot Morley: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate does not hold data on the usage of veterinary medicinal products.

Supermarkets

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry about the Competition Commission's recommendation for a code of practice to be introduced governing the relationship between supermarkets and their suppliers; and when she expects the code to be introduced.

Elliot Morley: The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry about the code of practice, but we have been kept informed of progress on its development.
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced on 18 December that she had accepted undertakings from the UK's major supermarkets to abide by the code and that it will come into effect from 17 March 2002.

Milk

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on farm gate milk prices of change to the temperature attained in the pasteurisation of milk process.

Elliot Morley: I am not aware of any proposals to change the temperature required for the pasteurisation of milk. However, in a recent consultation paper on their draft strategy for the control of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in cow's milk the Food Standards Agency proposed that the pasteurisation time for milk should be increased from 15 to 25 seconds. I understand that most liquid milk production in the UK is already pasteurised for 25 seconds. Accordingly, I would expect this proposal to have little effect on the farmgate price of milk.

Milk

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and the Chairman of the Food Standards Agency on changes in the pasteurisation of milk process; and what recent representations she has received from milk producer organisations regarding proposed increases in the temperature attained in the pasteurisation of milk.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health or the chairman of the Food Standards Agency on changes in the pasteurisation of milk process. Nor has she received any recent representations from milk producer organisations regarding proposed increases in the temperature attained in the pasteurisation of milk. My right hon. Friend is not aware of any proposals to change the temperature required for the pasteurisation of milk. However, a recent consultation paper on the Food Standards Agency draft strategy for the control of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in cows' milk proposed that pasteurisation time for milk should be increased from 15 to 25 seconds. This practice is already observed in most dairies.

Rhizomania

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what support her Department has given to (a) the development and (b) the dissemination of information on rhizomania-tolerant varieties of sugar beet.

Elliot Morley: DEFRA and the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have spent over one million pounds on research into rhizomania. Much of this research has been into the biology of the organisms which cause and spread the disease, essential information for those developing tolerant varieties. Included in this work are projects more specifically related to the development of tolerant varieties including investigation of the biology and control of Plasmodiophoraceous virus vectors, an investigation of the significance of resistance-breaking Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus (BNYVV) pathotypes for the UK sugar beet industry, and a project which seeks to identify new sources of rhizomania resistance. Additionally, DEFRA has supported the use of new tolerant varieties by accepting an industry request to allow their use on outbreak farms, in fields in which the disease has not been found. However, the development and dissemination of information on new varieties is the task of the seeds industry. Given the widespread findings of the disease in many European countries, where it is managed through the use of tolerant varieties, inevitably much of this development work has been done in those countries.

Laying Hens

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the future impact of the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive on the (a) operations and (b) profitability of the UK egg producing industry.

Elliot Morley: A partial regulatory impact assessment was produced to accompany the draft regulations to implement the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive during a recent public consultation exercise.
	The regulatory impact assessment is now being updated following consultation.

Biosecurity

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to link future claims for compensation for loss of livestock to the implementation of biosecurity recommendations.

Elliot Morley: The Animal Health Bill provides for the payment of compensation following infection with foot and mouth disease to be linked to good practice in maintaining adequate levels of biosecurity on affected farms. All farmers will qualify for 75 per cent. of market value, with the payment of any additional amount being subject to an assessment of biosecurity and related matters. Under this adjusted compensation scheme farmers will be incentivised to maintain effective biosecurity. This will benefit responsible farmers and the wider community by helping to limit the spread of disease.
	The Bill also provides powers to enable the extension of the provisions on adjusted compensation to other animal diseases, should we decide that it is necessary. This would be done by order, subject to affirmative resolution.

Cattle Imports

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle imports there have been in each of the last three years.

Elliot Morley: Estimates of number of cattle imported in the last three calendar years are given in the table. The majority of these imports are from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland.
	
		UK live cattle imports
		
			  Thousand 
		
		
			 1998 8.6 
			 1999 20 
			 2000 27 
		
	
	Source:
	HM Customs and DARD, Northern
	Prepared by: Statistics (Commodities and Economics and Statistics)

Food Imports

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the food imports from each European Union country over the last 12 months, broken down by product.

Elliot Morley: The table shows the value of food, feed and drink imports from each of the European Union countries, over the most recent 12 months for which data are available, broken down by product.
	
		UK Imports of food, feed and drink from EC countries: October 2000-September 2001(56) --  million
		
			  Product group/type  France  Netherlands Irish Republic  Germany  Spain  Italy  Denmark 
		
		
			 Beverages
			 Beer 30 35 51 54 11 7 1 
			 Cider and other fermented beverages 1 3 5 7 0 0 0 
			 Mineral water 99 43 34 17 3 8 5 
			 Other spirits 78 12 56 4 4 89 0 
			 Whisky 1 2 10 0 0 0 0 
			 Wine 613 8 1 81 135 187 2 
			 Total 822 103 158 163 153 291 8 
			 
			 Cereals and Cereal Preparations
			 Barley, unmilled 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 
			 Bread, crispbreads, savoury biscuits 52 41 76 54 6 22 20 
			 Cereal, milled 12 1 2 1 0 2 0 
			 Cereal, rolled or flaked 21 12 1 14 4 0 1 
			 Mixes and doughs for baking 7 6 5 4 0 0 4 
			 Other cereal (including maize), unmilled 103 4 2 4 0 0 0 
			 Pasta uncooked 0 2 1 1 0 53 0 
			 Rice 8 21 1 4 14 21 0 
			 Sweet biscuits 34 19 20 25 6 21 2 
			 Wheat, unmilled 28 4 4 10 0 5 5 
			 Total 267 110 116 116 31 126 32 
			 
			 Coffee, Tea, Cocoa and Spices
			 Chocolate 43 53 108 54 2 7 3 
			 Cocoa 10 47 0 4 1 0 1 
			 Coffee 15 18 3 68 5 7 3 
			 Spices 3 7 1 4 4 0 0 
			 Tea 2 1 1 3 0 0 0 
			 Total 73 127 113 132 11 15 7 
			 
			 Dairy Products and Birds Eggs
			 Butter 9 4 46 3 0 0 110 
			 Cheese 101 31 190 55 6 56 70 
			 Condensed milk 0 1 0 7 0 0 0 
			 Eggs and egg products 12 14 3 9 1 2 2 
			 Ice cream 52 3 5 11 8 5 0 
			 Milk and cream 6 1 18 7 0 1 5 
			 Milk powder 5 13 15 6 0 0 0 
			 Other milk products 7 7 10 15 0 0 2 
			 Yogurt 14 0 4 27 2 0 3 
			 Total 206 74 290 141 17 65 191 
			 
			 Feedingstuffs for Animals
			 Dog or cat food for retail 42 26 23 20 4 1 5 
			 Flours, meals and pellets of meat, offal or fish 1 3 6 9 0 0 3 
			 Oil cake 4 53 3 17 0 0 0 
			 Other animal feedingstuffs 7 23 15 10 1 1 1 
			 Total 54 105 46 56 6 2 8 
			 
			 Fish and Fish Preparations
			 Crustaceans 15 7 10 6 3 1 28 
			 Fish and crustaceans prepared or preserved 6 13 4 12 17 1 17 
			 Fish fresh or chilled 10 3 17 0 0 0 17 
			 Fish frozen 3 15 2 27 7 0 55 
			 Fish live 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Total 35 39 33 45 29 2 116 
			 Meat and Meat Preparations
			 Bacon and ham 30 232 14 8 1 13 230 
			 Beef and veal 5 25 157 10 2 6 5 
			 Beef products (inc. corned beef) 4 3 46 4 0 0 2 
			 Edible offal and other meat 3 4 4 2 0 0 6 
			 Lamb and mutton 3 2 5 1 3 0 0 
			 Other meat products 35 57 94 11 1 8 48 
			 Pork 33 42 31 29 6 1 149 
			 Poultrymeat (inc. poultry offal) 93 270 21 44 16 13 26 
			 Sausages and related products 13 15 6 29 3 16 7 
			 Total 219 651 376 138 31 57 473 
			 
			 Miscellaneous Edible Products
			 Infant food for retail 7 3 66 5 1 0 0 
			 Margarine 0 12 15 1 0 3 1 
			 Other food products and preparations 55 42 137 56 5 18 11 
			 Pasta, cooked or stuffed 4 1 3 5 0 25 0 
			 Sauces, condiments, seasonings 15 71 9 17 4 30 0 
			 Total 82 129 231 85 11 75 13 
			 
			 Oil Seeds and Oleaginous Fruits
			 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 27 8 3 35 0 1 3 
			 Total 27 8 3 35 0 1 3 
			 
			 Oils and Fats
			 Animal oils and fats, not chemically modified 4 8 4 5 0 2 9 
			 Processed fats and waxes 3 13 1 23 1 2 8 
			 Vegetable oils and fats, soft, crude, refined or fraction 36 122 2 10 24 23 2 
			 Total 44 143 6 38 25 27 19 
			 
			 Sugars, Sugar Preparations and Honey
			 Honey 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Molasses 0 17 1 1 0 1 0 
			 Other beet or cane sugar 21 4 23 5 0 0 1 
			 Other sugars 28 13 0 6 0 1 0 
			 Raw beet or cane sugar 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sugar confectionery 16 18 14 25 32 5 1 
			 Total 69 54 39 39 32 7 3 
			 
			 Vegetables and Fruit
			 Apples, fresh 85 11 1 2 2 11 0 
			 Apricots, cherries, peaches, plums and sloes (fresh) 15 1 1 1 38 32 0 
			 Bananas 29 14 7 1 0 0 0 
			 Grapes, fresh or dried 6 9 1 2 23 8 0 
			 Jams 17 16 2 29 20 24 12 
			 Juice 47 58 18 45 9 10 1 
			 Lemons and Limes 1 1 0 0 16 1 0 
			 Lettuce and chicory, fresh or chilled 16 7 0 0 73 6 0 
			 Mushrooms and truffles, fresh or chilled 4 25 79 0 0 0 0 
			 Nuts 1 2 0 14 3 6 0 
			 Oranges and Mandarins etc. 1 6 0 3 98 1 0 
			 Other citrus fruit 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other fruit 29 24 0 8 65 15 0 
			 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled 55 142 7 5 188 17 1 
			 Other vegetables, prepared or preserved 36 23 2 13 12 33 1 
			 Pears and quinces fresh 2 25 0 0 2 6 0 
			 Potato products 5 105 4 10 0 3 4 
			 Potatoes, fresh or chilled (inc. seed) 21 19 2 3 10 5 0 
			 Tomatoes, fresh or chilled 3 79 0 1 144 4 0 
			 Tomatoes, prepared or preserved 1 0 0 3 6 82 0 
			 Vegetable, frozen or provisionally prepared 16 38 9 3 16 1 1 
			 Total 392 606 134 145 726 266 20 
			 
			 Total Food, Feed and Drink 2,287 2,148 1,546 1,133 1,072 934 894 
		
	
	
		 million 
		
			 Product group/type Belgium Greece Portugal Austria Sweden Finland Luxembourg 
		
		
			 Beverages
			 Beer 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cider and other fermented beverages 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Mineral water 18 0 0 55 1 0 0 
			 Other spirits 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 
			 Whisky 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wine 5 2 39 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 39 2 40 56 5 0 0 
			 
			 Cereals and Cereal Preparations
			 Barley, unmilled 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Bread, crispbreads, savoury biscuits 56 0 1 0 5 3 0 
			 Cereal, milled 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cereal, rolled or flaked 12 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Mixes and doughs for baking 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Other cereal (including maize), unmilled 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Pasta uncooked 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rice 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sweet biscuits 17 0 0 4 0 0 0 
			 Wheat, unmilled 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 109 22 2 4 9 4 0 
			 
			 Coffee, Tea, Cocoa and Spices
			 Chocolate 57 0 0 0 4 0 0 
			 Cocoa 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Coffee 8 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Spices 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Tea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 68 0 0 2 4 0 0 
			 
			 Dairy Products and Birds Eggs
			 Butter 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Cheese 62 6 0 5 0 0 0 
			 Condensed milk 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Eggs and egg products 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Ice cream 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Milk and cream 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Milk powder 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 
			 Other milk products 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Yogurt 8 6 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 94 12 0 6 6 1 0 
			 
			 Feedingstuffs for Animals
			 Dog or cat food for retail 29 1 2 9 0 0 0 
			 Flours, meals and pellets of meat, offal or fish 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oil cake 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Other animal feedingstuffs 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 45 1 4 9 0 0 0 
			 
			 Fish and Fish Preparations
			 Crustaceans 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Fish and crustaceans prepared or preserved 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 
			 Fish fresh or chilled 0 5 0 0 11 0 0 
			 Fish frozen 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Fish live 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 10 5 9 0 12 0 0 
			 
			 Meat and Meat Preparations
			 Bacon and ham 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Beef and veal 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Beef products (inc. corned beef) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Edible offal and other meat 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Lamb and mutton 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other meat products 26 0 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Pork 19 0 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Poultrymeat (inc. poultry offal) 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sausages and related products 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 78 1 1 1 4 0 0 
			 Miscellaneous Edible Products
			 Infant food for retail 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Margarine 8 0 0 0 0 3 0 
			 Other food products and preparations 21 1 0 1 2 0 0 
			 Pasta, cooked or stuffed 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sauces, condiments, seasonings 14 1 4 0 2 0 0 
			 Total 45 1 4 1 5 3 0 
			 
			 Oil Seeds and Oleaginous Fruits
			 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 
			 Oils and Fats
			 Animal oils and fats, not chemically modified 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Processed fats and waxes 5 0 0 0 1 7 0 
			 Vegetable oils and fats, soft, crude, refined or fraction 14 4 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Total 22 4 0 0 3 7 0 
			 Sugars, Sugar Preparations and Honey
			 Honey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Molasses 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other beet or cane sugar 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other sugars 12 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Raw beet or cane sugar 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sugar confectionery 16 1 0 0 2 1 0 
			 Total 33 1 0 0 2 3 0 
			 
			 Vegetables and Fruit
			 Apples, fresh 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Apricots, cherries, peaches, plums and sloes (fresh) 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bananas 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Grapes, fresh or dried 1 43 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Jams 10 14 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Juice 17 0 1 14 0 0 0 
			 Lemons and Limes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lettuce and chicory, fresh or chilled 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Mushrooms and truffles, fresh or chilled 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nuts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oranges and Mandarins etc. 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other citrus fruit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other fruit 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled 7 1 6 0 0 0 0 
			 Other vegetables, prepared or preserved 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Pears and quinces fresh 8 0 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Potato products 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Potatoes, fresh or chilled (inc. seed) 10 0 3 2 0 0 0 
			 Tomatoes, fresh or chilled 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Tomatoes, prepared or preserved 0 15 18 0 0 0 0 
			 Vegetable, frozen or provisionally prepared 44 0 2 1 0 0 0 
			 Total 183 84 41 20 1 0 0 
			 
			 Total Food, Feed and Drink 730 116 100 99 51 19 0 
		
	
	(56) 200001 EU data are provisional and subject to amendment
	Source:
	HM Customs and Excise: Data prepared by Statistics (Commodities and Food) Accounts and Trade, ESD, DEFR

Livestock Markets

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many livestock markets were open in England and Wales on 1 December; and if she will list them.

Elliot Morley: There were no livestock markets open in England and Wales for the auction and sale of live animals on 1 December 2001 although some were open as collecting centres for animal movements under licence.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were employed in her Department in each of the last four years.

Elliot Morley: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 256W.

Beef Imports

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much beef has been imported from Argentina in each of the last three years.

Elliot Morley: Overseas Trade Statistics show that the UK imports of beef from Argentina between 1998 and 2000 were as follows:
	
		
			  Tonnes 000 
		
		
			 1998 10,636 18,341 
			 1999 10,982 17,897 
			 2000 10,252 19,143 
		
	
	Source:
	HM Customs and Excise

Beef Imports

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much beef was imported from New Zealand in each of the last three years.

Elliot Morley: Overseas Trade Statistics show that the UK imports of beef from New Zealand between 1998 and 2000 were as follows:
	
		
			  Tonnes 000 
		
		
			 1998 5,860 8,321 
			 1999 1,601 1,766 
			 2000 1,202 1,401 
		
	
	Source:
	HM Customs and Excise

BSE

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her oral answer of 15 November 2001, Official Report, column 961, on BSE, what peer reviews the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee has used of the research work of Professor Ebringer on BSE.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee has invited Professor Ebringer to attend its next meeting in February 2002. The Committee, which comprises independent and eminent scientists in the field, will then review Professor Ebringer's work. Generally, research is not peer reviewed specifically for the purposes of aiding SEAC's deliberations. On this occasion, however, an independent scientist has been approached to review the work prior to SEAC's discussion.

BSE

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what is (a) the target reduction of annual incidence of BSE for 2001 and (b) the actual figure for 2001.

Elliot Morley: The Department has a Public Service Agreement (PSA) target for this area; that is to reduce the annual incidence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) to less than 650 cases by 2001 and by 2004 be on track for fewer than 30 cases by 2006, a 99 per cent. reduction compared with 1997 when there were 4,312 cases.
	The actual figure for 2001 is likely to be around 750 confirmed BSE cases in cattle presented as clinical suspects. Progress against the PSA target has been affected by movement restrictions introduced to deal with the foot and mouth disease outbreak. This has disrupted the slaughter of older cattle under the over-30-months scheme (OTMS) because available rendering capacity has been used to dispose of the carcases of animals arising from the control of foot and mouth disease. This, in turn, has increased the mean age of the cattle population and resulted in more cases than previously anticipated. Nevertheless, the outturn for 2001 still represents a reduction of more than 40 per cent. compared to 2000 (1,311 cases in cattle presented as clinical suspects), so that the epidemic continues rapidly to decline. There is no particular concern at present in relation to the 2004 and 2006 targets.

Westlake Farm, Devon

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the gross costs are for the acquisition of the land used as a holding/transit area for carcases at Westlake Farm, Oakford, Devon;
	(2)  what the gross costs are for the construction of the holding/transit area for carcases at Westlake Farm, Oakford, Devon.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The site at Westlake Farm was not purchased. Negotiations are ongoing with the owner over the terms of the rental arrangements and about reinstatement of the site, taking into account of the council's requirements. Construction costs for the holding facility were 668,640.

Farms (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on recent trends in farm incomes in the constituency of Buckingham.

Elliot Morley: Information on UK farm incomes was published on 29 November 2001. Total Income from Farming (TIFF) is forecast to increase by 15 per cent. in real terms in 2001, compared with 2000. There are no plans to publish farm incomes data for the constituency of Buckingham.

Farms (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in the constituency of Buckingham have received free consultancy advice from the Farm Business Advice Service.

Elliot Morley: Management Information for the Farm Business Advice Service is collected by Business Link region and we are unable to provide figures for the constituency of Buckingham. However, figures for the Business Link region of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire show that in the year since the launch of the service in October 2000, 95 farms have received a first visit and 85 farms have completed the full three days resulting in an Action Plan.

Government Grants (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people in the constituency of Buckingham have received funding from the (a) rural enterprise scheme, (b) processing and marketing grants scheme, and (c) vocational training scheme since their introduction, indicating the level of funding received from each scheme.

Elliot Morley: Since the introduction of the rural enterprise, processing and marketing grants, and vocational training schemes, four projects have been approved in Buckinghamshire. Two were under RES, attracting total funding of 58,054 and two under VTS, attracting total funding of 34,483.

Mink Farms

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the costs awarded to MAFF following the case of MAFF v. TT Smith (Mink) Ltd. (11 March 1999) have been paid by the defendant.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The fine of 5,000 has been paid but the costs of 10,000 remain unpaid. Enforcement of payment is a responsibility of the magistrates court and we are pressing them to enforce payment.

Game Rearing Farms

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many official inspections of game rearing farms have been carried out in each year from 1995 to date.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 December 2001
	No. There are no statistics for inspections of game rearing farms.

Animal Slaughter (Jedburgh)

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the number and type of each animal slaughtered at (a) Beirhope farm, Jedburgh and (b) Renniestone, Jedburgh and on (i) contiguous premises and (ii) 3 km premises in April.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 17 December 2001
	900 sheep were slaughtered at Beirhope farm, Jedburgh and 1,766 sheep were slaughtered at Renniestone, Jedburgh.
	1,706 cattle and 2,550 sheep were slaughtered on premises contiguous to Beirhope farm and 2,991 cattle and 10,797 sheep were slaughtered on premises contiguous to Renniestone.
	2,624 sheep were slaughtered within the 3 km zone surrounding Beirhope farm and 35 cattle and 5,205 sheep were slaughtered within the 3 km zone surrounding Renniestone.

Animal Slaughter (Jedburgh)

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many premises were tested for evidence of foot and mouth disease as a result of the outbreaks at (a) Beirhope farm, Jedburgh and (b) Renniestone, Jedburgh in April; and what the result of the tests was.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Animals on both Beirhope farm and Renniestone were tested for foot and mouth disease and the test results were positive, confirming the disease in both cases. No tests were conducted on animals on the contiguous premises or on premises within the 3 km area surrounding each farm.
	A total of 92 premises located in the area between 3 and 10 km from both farms were tested for foot and mouth disease. As both farms are in the same ownership separate records of this surveillance blood testing were not kept. All of these tests were negative. However, a negative result does not guarantee that there are no traces of virus present.

Animal Slaughter (Jedburgh)

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) contiguous and (b) 3 kilometre premises were slaughtered out following outbreaks of foot and mouth disease at (i) Beirhope farm, Jedburgh and (ii) Renniestone, Jedburgh in April.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 17 December 2001
	There are six premises contiguous to Beirhope farm, Jedburgh and nine premises contiguous to Renniestone, Jedburgh. Animals on a further four premises were included in the 3 km cull surrounding Beirhope farm and a further 15 premises were included in the 3 km cull surrounding Renniestone.

Plaice

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the present minimum landing size for plaice in all sea areas will continue during 2002.

Elliot Morley: Yes. The EU minimum landing size of 27 cm which had been extended by derogation (from the original 22 cm) from 1 January 2000 was made permanent in May 2001.

Forests

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the change in the level of forest cover has been in the UK since May 1997.

Elliot Morley: The level of forest cover in the UK is estimated to have increased by approximately 70,000 hectares since May 1997.

Abattoirs

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to promote the use of small local abattoirs.

Elliot Morley: Despite the reduction in abattoir numbers over recent years there remains considerable over- capacity in the slaughtering sector and a reasonable spread of abattoirs across the country. As we announced in the Rural White Paper last year, Agriculture Departments in England, Scotland and Wales have agreed to transfer 8.7 million to the Food Standards Agency for the three financial years 200102 to 200304; this has enabled the FSA significantly to reduce inspection charges levied on many small and medium-sized meat plants. This will have positive benefits for small and medium-sized abattoirs. It is, however, too early to assess how the revised charging system will affect their profitability or future operation. The Policy Commission for Food and Farming will no doubt be considering the number and spread of abattoirs and we will consider carefully any recommendations in this area that it might make.

Abattoirs

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals she has to encourage the provision of local abattoirs.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Despite the reduction in abattoir numbers over recent years there remains considerable over-capacity in the slaughtering sector and a reasonable spread of abattoirs across the country. As we announced in the Rural White Paper last year, Agriculture Departments in England, Scotland and Wales have agreed to transfer 8.7 million to the Food Standards Agency for the three financial years 200102 to 200304; this has enabled the FSA significantly to reduce inspection charges levied on many small and medium-sized meat plants. This will have positive benefits for small and medium-sized abattoirs. It is, however, too early to assess how the revised charging system will affect their profitability or future operation. The Policy Commission for Food and Farming will no doubt be considering the number and spread of abattoirs and we will consider carefully any recommendations in this area that it might make.

Bovine Respiratory Disease

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to ensure effective protection against bovine respiratory disease, and its most commonly involved bacteria, pasteurella haemolytica.

Elliot Morley: In the UK, two bovine respiratory diseases are notifiable. These are contagious bovine pleuropneumonia and bovine tuberculosis. Regulations require that the incidence of these diseases is reported so that investigation and action can be implemented. Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia is not present in the UK and cattle imports are subject to international regulations designed to reduce the risk of importing this condition. Bovine tuberculosis is present in the UK and subject to regulation. Measures are in place to protect human health and to control the disease in cattle. These include requirements for notification, surveillance, slaughter with compensation, pasteurisation of milk and meat inspection. Other forms of bovine respiratory disease, including that caused by pasteurella haemolytica, are dealt with on a case-by-case basis and the appropriate control is a matter for the cattle owner and his or her veterinary surgeon.

Animal Movements

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on lifting animal movement restrictions in Wales.

Elliot Morley: Animal movement restrictions in England and Wales were introduced to help combat the spread of disease. They are developed on the basis of scientific and veterinary advice and have been applied in accordance with the designation of each county. All of Wales is now designated 'free' and benefits from the least restrictive animal movement regulations.
	We have announced that around mid-February these movement restrictions are to be further relaxed and that final details of these changes will be published in the new year.

Animal Movements

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to encourage the export of sheepmeat rather than live sheep and lambs; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 18 December 2001
	We regularly confirm our view that trade in meat is preferable to the long distance movement of live animals. We are pleased to see the efforts the meat industry is making to develop meat exports after the FMD outbreak and we are convinced that this is the best way forward.

Animal Movements

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to discourage the long distance transport of live animals between farms, markets and abattoirs.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The Government would prefer a trade in meat rather than in the long distance transport of animals for slaughter. This is a matter that will be considered when the European Commission produces its proposals to update and improve the present EU rules on the protection of animals during transport.

Animal Movements

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she proposes to reduce the number of journeys undertaken by live animals between farms, markets and abattoirs.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Markets have been closed during the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak and are expected to open progressively through the interim animal movement regime in 2002. To reduce the risk of spreading disease through the frequent movement of livestock a general 20 day standstill on moving animals currently applies; and will continue as part of the interim regime. The longer term animal movement regime, including the question of any more permanent movement standstill arrangements, will take account of the outcome of the inquiries announced in August and developments in EU controls in the light of FMD. Individual livestock movements are also subject to strict controls on grounds of animal welfare.

Badger Baiting

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to eliminate badger baiting.

Elliot Morley: This Government deplore the illegal killing of badgers. The principal legislation protecting the welfare of badgers is the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. Under the 1992 Act it is an offence to kill, take or dig for a badger, or attempt to do so, except under licence or in certain particular circumstances, or to injure one or attempt to do so. The maximum penalty for an offence under the 1992 Act is a fine of 5,000 and/or six months' imprisonment.
	The level of protection for badgers is unique for an unendangered animal and reflects the concern which is felt by Parliament about the gratuitous acts of cruelty to which badgers have been subjected all too often in the past.

Cockle Gatherers (Carmarthenshire)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary for Rural Affairs at the National Assembly for Wales on compensation for cockle gatherers in Carmarthenshire.

Elliot Morley: None. This is entirely a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Environmental Impact Assessments (Wales)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the National Assembly for Wales regarding (a) the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and (b) the implementation of its guidelines.

Michael Meacher: The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive must be implemented UK wide. Officials have worked very closely with the National Assembly for Wales Agriculture Department and other Agriculture Departments in the devolved Administrations to determine key factors of the new regime which is being introduced to implement the uncultivated land provisions. This will ensure consistency of implementation and decision making across the UK, while allowing for any appropriate regional variations.

Electronic Tagging (Cattle)

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will introduce electronic tagging and data collecting for cattle; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Department is currently reviewing all aspects of electronic identification of livestock together with farming industry representatives. In addition, the European Commission is undertaking extensive field trials of various electronic devices and we are awaiting the results of those trials to see what EU-wide rules might be agreed. The introduction of electronic identification in England will need to take account of this work.

Electronic Tagging (Cattle)

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in developing electronic tagging technologies for the identification of livestock.

Elliot Morley: The Department is currently reviewing all aspects of electronic identification of livestock together with farming industry representatives. In addition, the European Commission is undertaking extensive field trials of various electronic devices and we are awaiting the results of those trials to see what EU-wide rules might be agreed. The introduction of electronic identification in England will need to take account of this work.

IACS Payments

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to ensure the timely payment of Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) cheques.

Elliot Morley: The Rural Payments Agency has, since 20 August, been affected by industrial action. Several thousand days of processing time have been lost and this is impacting on its ability to process claims as quickly as it would normally do.
	Most schemes are affected to some degree but the greatest impact has been on the Arable Area Payment Scheme (AAPS).
	AAPS payments under the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) are made between 16 November and 31 January following the harvest. For land growing non-food crops the final payment date is 31 March.
	The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is doing everything that it can to ensure that delays in making payments are kept to a minimum. These include:
	Encouraging overtime working
	Redeploying all RPA staff with relevant experience on to the AAPS
	Back filling staff redeployed with casual/agency staff
	Increasing the number of staff authorising claims
	Using validation reports to determine which claims can best be handled by less experienced staff so that better use is made of those with more experience
	Switching staff periodically from case-work to payment authorisation
	Deploying staff returning from FMD duties.

Poultry (Additives)

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 395W, on the Advisory Group on Veterinary Medicines, what plans she has to make available the AGVR minutes before the Food Standards Agency 'Feed Additives in Poultry' stakeholders meeting on 16 January 2002.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 18 December 2001
	It is very unlikely that these minutes will be available before 16 January 2002. As indicated in an earlier answer, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate will have to seek the agreement of all former members of the Advisory Group on Veterinary Residues to their release. This is in accordance with Part II, Paragraph 14 a) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, Second Edition (1997). This is a time-consuming exercise but officials will complete the exercise as quickly as practicable.

Poultry (Additives)

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the total amount of poultry (a) produced and (b) sampled for (i) nicarbazin, (ii) lasaloci, (iii) dimetridazole and (iv) other residues in the last month of (A) 1998, (B) 1999, (C) 2000 and (D) 2001.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The total amounts of poultry produced in the last month of 1998, 1999 and 2000 are set out in table 1. The figures for 2001 are not yet known. The numbers of samples taken from poultry throughout the United Kingdom for testing for the substances listed for the same months are set out in table 2. The figures for the last month of 2001 are the numbers of samples requested by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
	
		Table 1: UK poultry slaughterings -- Million
		
			  December 1998 December 1999 December 2000 
		
		
			 Broiler birds 50.63 50.21 51.99 
			 Boiling fowls 2.90 2.89 2.76 
			 Turkeys 3.65 3.05 3.29 
			 Ducks(57) 1.42 1.50 1.50 
			 Geese(57) 0.083 0.083 0.083 
		
	
	(57) Figures only available for annual production. Figures shown are based on one twelfth of annual production.
	Source:
	UK livestock surveys
	
		Table 2: Number of UK poultry samples taken for analysis for veterinary residues in December
		
			  1998 1999 2000 2001(58) 
		
		
			 Nicarbazin n/a 26 14 26 
			 Lasalocid n/a 30 23 26 
			 Dimetridazole n/a 164 18 177 
			 Other n/a 533 291 709 
		
	
	(58) Figures for December 2001 relate to the number of samples requested.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, Winning the Generation Game, (a) what progress her Department has made and (b) what future plans her Department has for acting on them; and if she will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 19 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, on 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 335W.

Parliamentary Questions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to reply to the Question of 5 December, ref. 21336, from the hon. Member for Buckingham on sickness absence.

Elliot Morley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 19 December 2001, Official Report, columns 42324W.

Feed Additives

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable for the replacement of the currently marketed antibiotic feed additives containing mycelial grade substances with premixes containing pharmacopoeial grade active substances was agreed at the Veterinary Products Committee meeting of 18 October; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 19 December 2001
	At its meeting of 18 October the Veterinary Products Committee agreed the following timetable for the replacement of mycelial grade antibiotics with pharmacopoeial antibiotics:
	by 1 December 2003marketing authorisation holders to submit to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) valid applications for new marketing authorisations or to vary existing marketing authorisations;
	by 1 December 2004VMD to complete assessment of the relevant applications;
	by 1 June 2005marketing authorisation holders to implement the change.
	Failure to meet this timetable could lead to the revocation of marketing authorisations.

Rural-based Grants

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what amount of rural-based grants from (a) the EU and (b) other sources was paid in each year since 1990, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority;
	(2)  what amount of rural-based grants was made by the Government broken down by (a) constituency and (b) local authority in each year since 1990.

Alun Michael: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Rural Pubs and Post Offices

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) pubs and (b) post offices there were in rural areas, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority in each year since 1990.

Alun Michael: The information is not available in the form requested. Information on numbers of rural pubs is not held centrally and I understand from Consignia that information on numbers of rural post offices by constituency and local authority is not available. The Government have been monitoring the position on rural post offices and a number of initiatives have been taken to provide a secure future for rural post offices and other local facilities wherever possible.

Over-30-Months Scheme

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) BSE cases and (b) slaughtered animals under the over- 30-months scheme there were, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority in each year since 1990.

Elliot Morley: The information is as follows:
	(a) It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested, as data are not collected by constituency or local authority area. However, information is available by county as follows:
	
		Number of confirmed cases of BSE, by year of confirmation for each county in Great Britain 199014 December 2001
		
			 County 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Avon 257 474 643 607 391 285 210 106 52 40 22 10 
			 Bedfordshire 37 67 93 96 78 45 22 13 11 3 2 2 
			 Berkshire 58 104 178 157 126 107 54 54 22 19 9 6 
			 Borders 19 54 100 154 101 51 25 3 10 2 3 2 
			 Buckinghamshire 128 180 254 332 280 122 94 57 27 45 17 19 
			 Cambridge 49 63 91 133 91 54 33 20 18 13 8 2 
			 Central 9 17 37 67 54 23 5 6 3 1 1 2 
			 Cheshire 366 903 1,519 1,560 1,144 694 339 184 110 89 34 29 
			 Cleveland 21 23 42 58 36 30 20 15 9 5 9 4 
			 Clwyd 132 353 534 623 439 261 117 81 48 58 21 15 
			 Cornwall 834 1,679 2,458 2,124 1,181 688 387 194 130 123 81 45 
			 Cumbria 237 595 1,153 1,328 910 534 344 182 111 75 40 21 
			 Derbyshire 202 386 880 940 733 486 263 103 75 69 28 13 
			 Devon 1,208 2,306 3,253 2,906 1,870 1,055 640 397 268 204 98 65 
			 Dorset 1,048 1,655 2,061 1,824 1,199 725 423 271 206 136 66 37 
			 Dumfries 85 203 518 671 463 233 112 49 27 16 9 13 
			 Durham 54 71 164 171 159 117 60 40 23 13 10 4 
			 Dyfed 550 1,145 1,863 1,905 1,214 655 293 131 94 49 36 25 
			 Essex 53 70 162 196 184 129 73 39 14 9 7 7 
			 Fife 37 34 55 105 65 26 6 3 3
			 Mid Glamorgan 34 36 45 51 37 30 12 6 6 6 3  
			 South Glamorgan 22 44 110 106 65 35 10 9 7 1 2 2 
			 West Glamorgan 8 8 28 36 17 15 3 5 3 2 1  
			 Gloucestershire 346 538 697 677 473 258 167 108 71 73 32 26 
			 Grampian 95 118 268 397 230 141 78 41 13 10 11 15 
			 Gwent 85 143 234 258 160 119 58 39 24 21 5 3 
			 Gwynedd 29 69 154 184 120 73 44 22 12 5 2 9 
			 Hampshire 450 591 714 730 616 297 198 87 79 41 36 21 
			 Herefordshire/Worcestershire 233 349 547 645 426 269 139 109 70 68 42 15 
			 Hertfordshire 67 62 105 160 130 105 60 31 15 21 7 6 
			 Highland 22 35 60 89 66 32 15 10 1 3 4 3 
			 Humberside 71 98 137 214 163 137 78 32 38 25 20 16 
			 Isle of Wight 92 150 144 136 117 62 30 10 9 6 12 4 
			 Kent 245 310 398 449 264 198 103 54 32 26 17 9 
			 Lancashire 297 621 1,313 1,376 906 531 328 138 120 90 48 23 
			 Leicestershire 307 481 615 664 549 325 231 108 74 84 43 28 
			 Lincolnshire 95 147 204 256 221 146 77 50 31 31 32 15 
			 London 6 13 28 31 20 25 17 7 11 6 1 2 
			 Lothian 6 14 42 68 50 17 13 3 1 2 3 1 
			 Manchester 12 24 40 67 30 16 9 5 6 3 2  
			 Merseyside 9 16 35 25 27 5 13 3 1  2  
			 Norfolk 213 443 789 955 815 510 327 204 131 120 88 49 
			 Northamptonshire 104 197 269 285 231 133 72 57 33 18 22 13 
			 Northumberland 44 109 240 281 224 124 64 38 27 10 10 9 
			 Nottinghamshire 86 105 197 206 163 137 88 34 28 31 29 12 
			 Orkney 5 5 20 33 19 7 4 2 
			 Oxfordshire 203 310 512 461 360 205 117 87 53 55 42 27 
			 Powys 123 228 465 593 451 286 166 81 56 42 45 32 
			 Salop 293 467 858 950 662 412 235 143 122 83 54 37 
			 Scilly Isles  1   
			 Shetland  1 1  2 1 3 3 
			 Somerset 1,115 2,208 2,720 2,544 1,810 1,161 660 383 322 238 111 70 
			 Staffordshire 278 488 956 993 724 419 210 111 75 63 32 21 
			 Strathclyde 129 182 400 541 343 136 59 24 24 11 5 5 
			 Suffolk 160 251 368 477 386 220 151 88 50 61 28 26 
			 Surrey 118 152 260 267 205 112 79 34 19 17 8 6 
			 East Sussex 169 273 378 397 299 211 101 48 38 33 21 20 
			 West Sussex 312 424 645 704 524 331 180 102 60 50 29 25 
			 Tayside 43 45 112 144 105 84 26 21 12 6 3 4 
			 Tyne and Wear 1 6 10 16 12 6 62  
			 West Midlands 8 10 27 35 19 15 9 7 1 1 1  
			 Warwickshire 139 202 294 370 261 169 92 59 35 39 23 18 
			 Wiltshire 743 1,243 1,433 1,433 957 576 312 193 123 108 45 37 
			 North Yorkshire 505 832 1,471 1,618 1,276 782 426 227 252 143 90 56 
			 South Yorkshire 53 70 117 148 140 116 64 38 44 27 12 12 
			 West Yorkshire 70 113 194 244 186 141 86 38 54 29 15 11 
			 Total 12,829 22,613 34,712 36,271 25,579 15,451 8,740 4,847 3,444 2,678 1,541 1,009 
		
	
	(b) OTMS throughput totals broken down into counties for GB. Of course, the OTMS only began in April 1996. At present, resources only permit us to provide information for 1999, 2000 and 2001.
	
		
			  1999 2000 2001(59) 
		
		
			 England
			 Bedfordshire 1,492 1,463 976 
			 Berkshire 2,396 2,454 1,381 
			 Buckinghamshire 5,011 5,050 3,316 
			 Cleveland 1,292 1,545 595 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,871 1,781 1,192 
			 Cheshire 36,904 36,471 21,037 
			 Cornwall 31,869 31,910 17,326 
			 Cumbria 48,917 49,170 19,088 
			 Derbyshire 21,590 21,592 12,791 
			 Devon 55,535 58,295 29,652 
			 Dorset 23,004 24,587 14,869 
			 Durham 7,011 7,535 2,729 
			 Essex 2,907 3,016 1,783 
			 Gloucestershire 14,388 15,459 7,883 
			 Hampshire 8,897 9,179 5,648 
			 Isle of Wight 1,773 1,911 988 
			 Hereford and Worcester 15,737 16,657 8,336 
			 Hertfordshire 1,849 1,716 894 
			 Kent 5,024 5,749 3,417 
			 Lancashire 30,957 30,334 15,045 
			 Leicestershire 10,863 11,377 7,187 
			 Lincolnshire 6,141 6,165 3,415 
			 Merseyside 987 952 646 
			 Greater London 276 272 177 
			 Norfolk 7,247 7,442 3,897 
			 Northamptonshire 4,776 5,217 2,962 
			 Tyne and Wear 809 806 276 
			 Northumberland 10,775 10,658 4,633 
			 Nottinghamshire 4,534 4,716 2,784 
			 Oxfordshire 6,015 6,265 4,099 
			 Avon 10,478 10,695 5,940 
			 Shropshire 27,412 27,088 15,782 
			 Somerset 34,962 37,965 21,591 
			 Staffordshire 29,300 29,722 18,230 
			 Suffolk 3,460 3,336 2,032 
			 Isles of Scilly 63 46 18 
			 Surrey 3,423 4,181 2,302 
			 East Sussex 5,066 5,543 3,255 
			 West Sussex 6,671 7,101 3,856 
			 Warwickshire 6,608 7,414 4,306 
			 Greater Manchester 3,577 3,449 1,944 
			 Wiltshire 19,117 19,569 11,350 
			 West Midlands 1,152 985 718 
			 North Yorkshire 37,963 39,069 18,979 
			 South Yorkshire 8,341 8,405 4,067 
			 West Yorkshire 858 910 591 
			 Humberside 3,801 3,789 2,112 
			 Total 573,099 589,011 316,095 
			 
			 Wales
			 Powys 16,477 16,934 6,922 
			 Gwynedd 10,987 10,303 6,243 
			 Dyfed 53,915 50,989 29,762 
			 Clwyd 16,969 18,026 10,176 
			 South Glamorgan 2,025 1,928 1,108 
			 Mid Glamorgan 2,025 1,995 1,026 
			 West Glamorgan 2,034 2,047 949 
			 Gwent 6,874 6,869 3,573 
			 Total 111,306 109,091 59,759 
			 
			 Scotland
			 Aberdeenshire 11,607 12,382 7,197 
			 Angus 2,559 2,775 1,905 
			 Argyllshire 4,618 4,778 2,423 
			 Ayrshire 21,459 20,424 11,804 
			 Banffshire 3,106 3,318 2,193 
			 Berwickshire 2,685 2,984 1,467 
			 Bute 1,313 1,490 893 
			 Caithness 2,849 2,931 2,008 
			 Clackmannanshire 202 218 59 
			 Dumfriesshire 13,553 14,047 6,565 
			 Dumbartonshire 1,383 1,363 841 
			 East Lothian 825 930 566 
			 Fife 3,659 3,692 2,043 
			 Inverness-shire 1,952 2,278 1,356 
			 Kincardineshire 2,714 3,161 1,631 
			 Kinross-shire 629 698 380 
			 Kirkcudbrightshire 9,017 9,781 5,209 
			 Lanarkshire 11,803 11,271 6,252 
			 Midlothian 1,861 2,054 1,114 
			 Morayshire 2,417 2,251 1,526 
			 Nairnshire 801 803 499 
			 Orkney 4,876 4,860 3,422 
			 Peeblesshire 1,319 1,467 834 
			 Perthshire 5,326 5,718 3,269 
			 Renfrewshire 3,164 3,025 1,780 
			 Ross and Cromarty 1,663 1,735 992 
			 Roxburghshire 2,740 3,157 1,631 
			 Selkirkshire 462 595 358 
			 Shetland 369 402 252 
			 Stirlingshire 3,283 3,462 1,867 
			 Sutherland 347 439 233 
			 West Lothian 1,441 1,439 872 
			 Wigtownshire 11,132 11,323 5,855 
			 Total 137,134 141,251 79,296 
			 
			 Grant total 821,539 839,353 455,150 
		
	
	(59) January to November

Illegally Imported Meat

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the number of seizures of illegally imported meat and meat products during the past 12 months; and if she will list the points of entry at which the seizures were made.

Elliot Morley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 4 December 2001, Official Report, column 267W.

British Beef Exports

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date she expects the resumption of exports of British beef to France following the European Court of Justice ruling; what recent discussions she has had with her French counterpart about the arrangements for the lifting of the French ban on British beef; and what steps she is taking to claim compensation on behalf of British beef producers for the loss of export income during the period of the ban.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects the Commission to take further action against the French Government if they do not lift their ban within a reasonable timescale. My right hon. Friend made it clear at the Agriculture Council on 19 December 2001 that she expected the ban to be lifted as soon as possible.
	The UK Government cannot claim compensation as they have no direct commercial interest. However, we will give exporters seeking compensation full support, practical assistance and advice, although as a matter of policy the Government will not fund their costs nor provide detailed legal advice.

Fishing Fleet

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on what basis kilowatt days will be established for individual fishing vessels, pursuant to the European Commission's proposal for a Council regulation establishing measures for the recovery of cod and hake stocks; and if (a) the declared engine power according to the Fishing Vessel Register and (b) the actual engine power will be used;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on how an under-declaration of engine power will affect the United Kingdom position in respect of the list of vessels required under the EU Regulation for the recovery of cod and hake stocks; and if the UK would be penalised in a future fleet reduction programme in the event of the list being submitted to the Commission having included vessels with actual engine power found to be larger than that declared on the Fishing Vessel Register.

Elliot Morley: This will depend on the form in which EU legislation for recovery of cod and hake stocks is adopted. The Council has not yet begun to consider the recently published Commission proposals for limiting fishing effort.

Agriculture Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 19 and 20 December; what the Government's position was on each issue discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Agriculture Council in Brussels on 19 December 2001. Agriculture Ministers of the devolved Administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland were also present.
	The Council reached agreement on reform of the sheepmeat regime, including a number of measures for which the United Kingdom had pressed strongly. The changes will make substantial savings in the budget for the EU's current financial year. The main ones will fix permanent rates of premium and create national envelopes which can be directed towards national or regional priorities. Different approaches will be permitted in England and the devolved Administrations. I am delighted with this outcome which will give us some valuable flexibility in the operation of this importance regime.
	The Council also agreed to introduce a stabiliser which will cap spending in the seeds sector. The new arrangements fully safeguard UK interests. A further amendment of the banana regime was also agreed, bringing to a close a long running dispute with certain of the EU's trading partners.
	The presidency reported the successful outcome of the international conference on foot and mouth disease at which the United Kingdom had taken a prominent part.
	The Council discussed a memorandum from certain member states on the oilseeds market. I endorsed the Commission's response, arguing that further encouragement of oilseed production in the EU would be costly, unnecessary and likely to produce tension with our trading partners.
	The Council took note of progress on several dossiers under the Belgian presidency and exchanged views on a useful memorandum from the German Government on organic farming.

Fisheries Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Fisheries Council held in Brussels on 17 and 18 December; what the Government's position was on each issue discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I represented the United Kingdom at a meeting of the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers in Brussels on 1718 December, together with Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development in the Scottish Executive and Mrs. Brid Rodgers, the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development.
	The Council agreed by qualified majority, with France voting against, on Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas to apply in 2002 in EU waters and for EU vessels fishing in waters where catch limitations apply, together with a six-month extension of the controls on fleet capacity and grants. Details of the agreed UK quotas are provided in the table. Following on from the advice of fisheries scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) highlighting the poor state of a number of fish stocks, the Commission proposed large cuts in a wide range of TACs. I fully supported the need for large cuts where the science justified this, but argued in parallel to this that in many respects the Commission's proposals went further than science would justify.
	Scientific assessment underpinned our whole approach towards stocks. We were careful both to respect scientific advice and have a sound scientific case where we disagreed with some of the Commissions's proposals.
	The Commission was in particular too quick to propose large automatic cuts in relation to stocks associated and caught with depleted stocks and to cut TACs for some stocks because they appear to have been under-utilised by fishermen up to now. The former approach had led the Commission to propose, for example, further large cuts in the nephrops fisheries west of Scotland and in the Irish sea and North sea on the presumption that this would relieve pressure on depleted cod stocks: expert analysis that we have carried out on this proposition because of the importance of the nephrops fishery to UK fishermen showed conclusively that, to the contrary, the Commission's proposed cuts would have seriously penalised nephrops fishermen in order to bring benefits to cod stocks which would be minimal at best.
	More generally, if implemented the proposals would have denied fishermen such benefits as the scientific advice showed could now be derived as a result of conservation measures already taken, and would have curtailed a wide range of fishing activity much more severely than could be rationally justified.
	I am pleased to say that, after lengthy negotiations, we achieved an outcome which closely follows the scientific advice. This does not shirk severe measures where these are justified, but it does meet my criticisms of what the Commission proposed. Improvements of particular interest to UK fishermen include the abandonment of the unjustified further cuts proposed in the nephrops TACs, a 48 per cent. increase in the TAC for cod in the Irish sea (made possible by conservation measures previously taken there), and a valuable mitigation of the punitive cuts proposed by the commission in the TACs for monkfish.
	The Council agreed a short, six-month, extension of the controls on fleet capacity and grants, raising the capacity penalty applied when vessel construction and modernisation grants are paid on vessels in fleet segments exceeding their Community limits. The Council and the Commission undertook to aim, in the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, at an active fleet policy to achieve better balance between fishing effort and fisheries resources.
	The Council briefly noted, but did not discuss in any details, two areas of work that will command a lot of its attention in 2002the review of the Common Fisheries Policy and the long-term plans to be put in place for the recovery of depleted stocks. Clearly the second of these items will be of particular importance in the context of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the fisheries concerned and of the industries that pursue them.
	
		Comparative table of UK quota for 2001 and 2002
		
			   UK quota  
			 Stock 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Sandeel IIa North Sea 20,000 17,794 
			 Herring I, II 16,460 16,460 
			 Herring IVa, b 40,570 38,169 
			 Herring IVc, VIId 1,693 4,094 
			 Herring Vb, VIaN, VIb 21,570 21,571 
			 Herring VIa (Clyde) 1,000 1,000 
			 Herring VIIa 5,100 3,550 
			 Herring VIIe, f 500 500 
			 Herring VIIg-k 30 10 
			 Herring IIa North Sea Industrial by-catch 660 660 
			 Cod IIa, IV 18,930 19,397 
			 Cod Vb, VI, XII, XIV 2,222 2,960 
			 Cod VIIa 895 1,378 
			 Cod VIIb-k, VIII, IX, X 870 712 
			 Megrim IIA North Sea 2,600 2,599 
			 Megrim Vb, VI, XII, XIV 1,370 1,367 
			 Megrim VII 2,150 1,874 
			 Dab and Flounder IIa North Sea 2,330 2,331 
			 Anglers IIa North Sea 11,495 8,545 
			 Anglers Vb, VI, XII, XIV 1,975 1,513 
			 Anglers VII 3,870 3,295 
			 Haddock IIa, IV 41,780 59,805 
			 Haddock Vb, VI, XII, XIV 10,820 10,992 
			 Haddock VII, VIII, IX, X 1,200 830 
			 Haddock VIIa (additional to haddock VII) 1,293 622 
			 Whiting IIa, IV 13,335 18,853 
			 Whiting Vb, VI, XII, XIV 2,580 2,157 
			 Whiting VIIa 685 443 
			 Whiting VIIb-k 2,250 3,402 
			 Hake IIa, IV 160 170 
			 Hake Vb, VI, VII, XII, XIV 2,500 2,662 
			 Blue whiting IIa, IV 1,070 592 
			 Blue whiting Vb, VI, VII, XII, XIV 45,350 25,032 
			 Blue whiting VIII abde 7,241 3,555 
			 Lemon sole IIa North sea 6,580 5,937 
			 Nephrops IIa, IV 13,380 14,368 
			 Nephrops Vb, VI 11,070 11,072 
			 Nephrops VII 6,200 5,856 
			 Northern prawn IIa, IV 1,778 1,074 
			 Plaice IIa, IV 21,780 20,748 
			 Plaice Vb, VI, XII, XIV 1,170 1,050 
			 Plaice VIIa 835 1,223 
			 Plaice VIId, e 1,750 1,946 
			 Plaice VIIf, g 180 119 
			 Plaice VIIh, j, k 150 146 
			 Pollack Vb, VI, XII, XIV 400 403 
			 Pollack VII 2,960 2,964 
			 Saithe IIa, III, IV 6,980 10,838 
			 Saithe Vb, VI, XII, XIV 3,255 3,211 
			 Saithe VII, VIII, IX, X 805 1,340 
			 Turbot and brill IIa North Sea 1,110 973 
			 Skates and rays IIa North Sea 3,128 2,509 
			 Mackerel IIa(EC), III, IV 1,580 1,611 
			 Mackerel IIa(non-EC), Vb, VI, VII, VIIIabde, XII, XIV 197,069 201,647 
			 Sole II, IV 815 686 
			 Sole Vb, VI, XII, XIV 30 25 
			 Sole VIIa 240 244 
			 Sole VIId 885 1,000 
			 Sole VIIe 355 309 
			 Sole VIIf, g 285 301 
			 Sole VIIh, j, k 110 138 
			 Sprat II, IV 8,350 8,348 
			 Sprat VIId, e 6,300 6,300 
			 Spurdog IIa, IV 7,177 5,745 
			 Horse mackerel IIa North Sea 4,960 4,960 
			 Horse mackerel Vb, VI, VII, VIIIabde, XII, XIV 22,850 14,026

Asbestos

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often since 1998 inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive have (a) made (i) announced and (ii) unannounced visits to asbestos removal sites and (b) entered the asbestos stripping enclosure during both such types of visit; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
	(a) Health and Safety Executive inspectors have the discretion to decide whether to announce their visits in advance or whether to arrive on site unannounced. The system for recording the number of visits made by HSE inspectors does not differentiate between the two. The number of visits made by HSE inspectors since 1998 is as follows:
	
		
			   Visits 
		
		
			 199899 1,023 
			 19992000 974 
			 200001 951 
		
	
	(b) The Health and Safety Executive do not gather information about the number of HSE inspectors who enter asbestos stripping enclosures during visits to asbestos work.
	Excellence in Cities

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 497W, on the Excellence in Cities Scheme, if she will list the towns and villages that will cover the 24 excellence clusters by September 2002; and where their funding will come from.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The 24 Excellence Clusters that will be working by September 2002 are:
	Barnet Bishop Auckland Coventry Crewe Croydon (Croydon and Thornton Heath) Derby Dewsbury and Batley (Dewsbury, Batley, Holmfirth and Heckmondwike) East Lancashire (Burnley and Nelson) High Wycombe (High Wycombe and Marlow) Hillingdon (Hillingdon, Hayes, Uxbridge and West Drayton) Huddersfield Lancaster Milton Keynes Norwich
	Peterborough Portsmouth (Portsmouth and Southsea) Shepway (Folkestone, Hythe and New Romney) Stockport Tameside (Ashton under Lyne, Hyde and Dukinfield) Tilbury and Chadwell (Tilbury, Grays and Stanford le Hope) Walsall (Walsall and Wednesbury) West Cumbria (Cleator Moor, Maryport, Whitehaven and Workington) West Lancashire (Skelmersdale and Ormskirk) Wigan. Their funding comes from the DfES Standards Fund.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Burglary

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding has been awarded to schemes under the reducing burglary initiative in the Buckingham constituency in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what targets have been set to reduce crime under the schemes.

John Denham: None; we did not receive any bids for funding for burglary reduction projects in this area.

Specialist Detectives

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role specialist detectives will take on; and how many there will be.

John Denham: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Specialist detectives would develop the skills to work on the most complex investigations. They would be drawn from existing officers and those choosing to specialise as they join the service. The operational needs of police forces would determine what proportion of their detective officers would specialise in investigation. These officers would still work in other areas of policing, but would develop their investigative skills to a high standard through a career anchored in investigation. This would provide an experienced pool of officers from which Senior Investigation Officers could be drawn.
	In the most specialised fields we plan to introduce specialist civilian investigators. Specialist civilian investigators will provide the depth of knowledge only a career specialist could bring to investigations into high-tech crime, cybercrime, fraud, money laundering and other complex areas of crime. The numbers recruited will depend on the operational needs of the police service. Some specialists might be shared between a number of forces. By providing the civilian investigators with certain police powers they will be able to function as full members of investigating teams.

Home Security (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been awarded to provide home security improvements for low-income pensioners living in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

John Denham: Our scheme to provide low-income pensioners with home security improvements only operates in those police Basic Command Unit (BCU) areas that had a burglary rate above the national average according to the recorded crime statistics published in January 2000. The Buckingham constituency does not fall within an eligible area, as the Aylesbury Vale BCU has a burglary rate around half the national average.

Special Constables (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there have been in the constituency of Buckingham in each year since 1997.

John Denham: I understand from the chief constable of Thames Valley police that it is not possible to provide information about the number of special constables specifically for the Buckingham constituency, as such information is not collected. Figures are available for the number of special constables in the Aylesbury Vale police area, which incorporates the Buckingham constituency, at 31 March each year, and these are:
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 1997 57 
			 1998 72 
			 1999 77 
			 2000 43 
			 2001 40 
		
	
	The Government are committed to increasing the special constabulary and as part of the police reform process we are working with stakeholders on a range of measures to significantly improve the management, welfare and deployment of specials.

Breathalyser Tests (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many breathalyser tests were carried out in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997; and what percentage resulted in convictions.

John Denham: Limited available information for the Thames Valley police force area is given in the table.
	
		Screening breath tests(60) and convictions at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs where a breathalyser will have been used(61) for the Thames Valley police force area, 199799
		
			  Year Total numbers of screening breath tests(60) Total numbers of convictions at all courts(61) Convictions as a percentage of breath tests 
		
		
			 1997 33,100 4,100 12 
			 1998 34,200 3,900 11 
			 1999 30,300 3,700 12 
		
	
	(60) Information taken from the Home Office Breath Test Statistics.
	(61) Information taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database
	Note:
	It is important to note that because the information has been taken from two separate collections the data are not strictly comparable (the court conviction will, of course, be given at a later date).

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) antisocial behaviour orders and (b) curfew orders have been made in the Buckingham constituency since the commencement of the schemes.

John Denham: Official statistics on the number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBO) issued are based on quarterly returns received from Magistrates Courts Committees (MCCs). A review identified an undercount and my Department therefore undertook an exercise with the police to obtain more reliable figures. As a result of this reconciliation exercise the total number of ASBOs issued within England and Wales up until the end of September this year was 466, 184 more than previously reported. Of these, seven have been issued within the Thames Valley MCC.
	No applications have been received from local authorities or the police to establish child curfew schemes under section 14 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, as amended by sections 48 and 49 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. These amendments extended the upper age limit to 15 and allow the police, as well as local authorities, to initiate schemes. These changes were implemented on 1 August 2001.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued by (a) Wandsworth council and (b) other local authorities in Greater London between 1999 and 2001.

John Denham: Information held centrally on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued up to 31 May 2000 is by police force area only. Up to that date there were nine issued within the Metropolitan police area (including City of London).
	From 1 June 2000 official statistics on the number of ASBOs issued are based on quarterly returns from Magistrates Courts Committees. A review identified an undercount and my Department therefore undertook an exercise with the police to obtain more reliable figures. As a result of this reconciliation exercise the total number of ASBOs issued within England and Wales up to the end of September this year was 466, 184 more than previously reported. Within the area of the Greater London Magistrates Courts Authority there have been 31 ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000. Wandsworth borough has not been reported as being involved in the application of any of these orders.

CCTV

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the funding available for CCTV schemes in the Buckingham constituency.

John Denham: Under the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative a potential 170 million will be spent funding 686 CCTV schemes.
	Although no further bids can be accepted under the Crime Reduction Programme, other opportunities for CCTV funding may exist under the Communities Against Drugs or the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas initiatives.
	We aim to announce future arrangements for funding Crime Reduction, including CCTV, as soon as possible.

CCTV

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) the closed circuit TV schemes that have been (i) funded and (ii) part-funded by the Government in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997, (b) the cost of each and (c) targets set to reduce crime under the schemes.

John Denham: Under Round 2 of the CCTV Challenge Competition (199697), the Home Office provided part funding of 9,500 for the Buckingham Town Centre CCTV system. The bid set out a target of a 40 per cent. reduction in vehicle-related crime and criminal damage in the area covered by the system.

Drugs (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many offenders were dealt with for supply offences in respect of Class A drugs in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of recorded crime in the Buckingham constituency that was drug-related in the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not available at constituency level.
	However, data from the Home Office Court Appearances and Cautions Drugs Databases show that the number of persons in the Thames Valley Police force area who were dealt with for supply offences involving Class A drugs fell from 209 in 1997 to 191 in both 1998 and 1999. Data for 2000 are not yet available.
	It is difficult to calculate a single percentage figure reflecting precisely what proportion of all crimes is drug-related since no statistical data are collected on offences that may have been committed due to drug taking. However, information is collected on the number of drug offences. Details of the number of persons convicted of or cautioned for drug offences and as a proportion of persons convicted of or cautioned for all indictable offences in the Thames Valley Police force area during the period 199599 are given in the table.
	
		Number of persons convicted of or cautioned for drug offences and as a proportion of persons convicted of or cautioned for all indictable offences, Thames Valley, 199599
		
			  Drug offences All indictable offences Drug offences as a percentage of all indictable offences 
		
		
			 1995 1,914 11,546 16.6 
			 1996 1,750 11,046 15.8 
			 1997 1,738 10,474 16.6 
			 1998 1,891 10,331 18.3 
			 1999 2,042 11,207 18.2 
		
	
	Source:
	Home Office Court Appearances and Cautions Database

Drugs (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) those schemes which have received funding under the Communities Against Drugs Initiative in the Buckingham constituency, (b) the amount received and (c) what targets have been set to reduce crime under the scheme.

Bob Ainsworth: Aylesbury Vale Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership was allocated 127,200 for Communities Against Drugs, in 200102. The table shows how the partnership is to spend this money:
	
		
		
			 Intervention Sum allocated 
		
		
			 Police Proactive Unit 53,723 
			 Drugs Outreach Service 52,500 
			 Arrest Referral Project 5,000 
			 Drug Market Analysis 5,000 
			 Walton Court Project(62) 10,977 
			  
			 Total 127,200 
		
	
	(62) Part funding for CCTV and police/neighbourhood warden office
	Communities Against Drugs activity, in Aylesbury Vale, is contributing to the achievement of the Government's drugs strategy targets, and local authority best value targets.

Crime Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of (a) violent crime, (b) burglary and (c) vandalism in the Buckingham constituency were reported to the police in each year since 1997; and how many investigations resulted in a conviction.

John Denham: The requested details are not collected centrally.
	Details of some offences recorded by the police have been collected by police Basic Command Unit (BCU) since 1 April 1999. The table gives details of numbers of offences and detections for the Aylesbury Vale BCU. Details of criminal damage offences are not collected at BCU level.
	
		
			  19992000 200001 
		
		
			 Violent crime   
			 Offences 970 1,217 
			 Offences detected 775 834 
			
			 Burglary in a dwelling   
			 Offences 779 533 
			 Offences detected 166 93 
		
	
	Violent crime is comprised of the violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery offence groups.
	It should be noted that recorded violent crime is subject to changes in reporting and recording. The 2001 British Crime Survey found that in England and Wales as a whole, victimisation for the violent crime in the survey which is comparable to recorded crime decreased by 19 per cent. between the 1999 and 2000 calendar years, whereas comparable violent crime recorded by the police increased by 9 per cent. Violent crime recorded by the police may therefore not necessarily be a reflection of real changes in the level of victimisation.
	Details of convictions specifically relating to offences in the Aylesbury Vale BCU are not available.

Young Offenders (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many youths under the age of 18 from the Buckingham constituency have been held in young offenders rehabilitation centres in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The number of receptions of persons under the age of 18 into prisons in England and Wales from courts in the Buckingham constituency is given in the table:
	
		
			  Year Receptions of under 18-year-old prisoners committed in Buckingham constituency(63) 
		
		
			 1997 24 
			 1998 29 
			 1999 19 
			 2000 29 
		
	
	(63) Data are based on court of first committal

Speed Cameras

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many speed cameras have been installed, and how much has been spent on (a) installing and (b) maintaining and replacing speed cameras in each year since 1995;
	(2)  what the estimated backlog is in the prosecution of speeding related offences detected by speed cameras;
	(3)  what criteria the Government have set for money raised from fines arising from speed cameras being made available to meet the costs of that speed camera;
	(4)  what the estimated financial saving is from the cost of road accidents which has arisen since the introduction of speed cameras in the UK;
	(5)  what the percentage change is in the number of (a) serious and (b) fatal accidents at sites where speed cameras have been installed in the last two years;
	(6)  how many (a) pedestrian, (b) cyclist, (c) motor cyclist, (d) car driver and (e) passenger lives are estimated to have been saved by the introduction of speed cameras;
	(7)  if he will make a statement on the system for the funding of speed cameras in selected police areas; and what plans the Government have to extend the system;
	(8)  what estimate the Government have made of the number of accidents caused by drivers cutting their speeds on approaching a signalled speed camera in the last five years;
	(9)  what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of speed cameras on the use of police time;
	(10)  how much money has been raised in fines for speeding related offences, detected by speed cameras, in each year since 1995;
	(11)  what the average cost is of (a) setting up and (b) maintaining a speed camera; and what percentage of the maintenance and set up costs of speed cameras is covered by revenue raised from fines and other charges, made through speed related offences.

John Denham: The number of speed cameras in police force areas is not recorded centrally. The Association of Chief Police Officers estimates that there are about 4,500 speed camera sites in England and Wales. The average cost of purchasing and installing a fixed site speed camera is in the region of 30,000.
	From April 2000 eight partnerships, comprising local police forces, local authorities, highways authorities and magistrates courts, have been piloting a new 'netting off' scheme . This allows the fixed penalty revenue from speed and red-light cameras to be re-invested to fund camera enforcement. The money raised is used to meet all the costs of purchasing, installing, operating and maintaining cameras.
	Under the scheme, local magistrates courts within a partnership collect all fixed penalty notice and fine revenue from offenders. The element to be netted off goes to the partnership's local authority, which acts as treasurer for the scheme, and distributes the funds to each of the partners on the basis of invoiced expenditure. Any revenue not used for camera enforcement goes to Her Majesty's Treasury. For areas outside the netting-off scheme all camera related costs are met by the police, local authorities and other agencies involved in the enforcement process. Proceeds go to Her Majesty's Treasury.
	The results of the netting-off scheme demonstrate its value. Evidence from the pilot areas shows that motorists are slowing down in all areas where speed cameras are located, and not just in the immediate vicinity of camera sites. The first year report of the scheme shows that across the eight pilot areas as a whole the number of people killed or seriously injured dropped by 18 per cent. compared to the average of the previous three years. On average, the number of people killed or seriously injured at the camera sites is down by 47 per cent., and the average speed is down by 5.6 miles per hour. On the basis of historical trend data, we estimate that there were 109 fewer people killed or seriously injured as a result of the increased camera enforcement, although we cannot break this down by type of road user. We estimate that 27 million has been saved by the reduction of casualties and collisions at camera sites in the pilot areas when account is taken of ambulance and medical costs, lost output and the human costs of road accidents.
	In addition, the evidence suggests that police operational priorities have not been distorted in any way. Automatic road safety cameras do not need police attendance and act as a continuous deterrent. They free up police resources to deal with other crimes and to undertake other traffic law enforcement activities. In the pilot areas, wider criminal activity has also been detected by chasing up non-payers caught on camera. The Association of Chief Police Officers strongly supports the netting-off scheme.
	In August we announced the national roll-out of the netting-off scheme, and a further seven partnership areas joined the scheme in October 2001. A further 12 force areas have applied to join the scheme next year, and more are expected soon. All areas wishing to join the scheme are expected to do so over the next two to three years.
	We have made it clear that cameras will only be placed at sites where there is a proven history of speed-related injuries or at accident hotspots where excess speed is a problem. There will be a requirement that all cameras are properly sign-posted and sufficiently visible, with their deployment well publicised locally. Camera use will be monitored to ensure that they help to reduce accidents. Those that do not will be moved to a more appropriate location or removed altogether. We shall be issuing new guidance to local authorities and police forces operating speed cameras outside the netting-off scheme, so that the requirements for other cameras mirror the netting-off rules.
	The number of fixed penalties over the last five years for speeding offences where cameras have provided the evidence is given in the table. Automatic camera devices provided evidence from 1995 to 1998 and all camera types for 1999. Data for 2000 are not yet available. From 1995 to 1999 the fixed penalty charge for speeding offences was 40. All the money was paid to Her Majesty's Treasury.
	
		
			   Fixed penalties Estimated revenue(64)  million 
		
		
			 1995 170,000 6.8 
			 1996 212,600 8.8 
			 1997 288,600 11.5 
			 1998 338,800 13.6 
			 1999(65) 423,000 16.9 
		
	
	(64) 'Estimate' based on paid 40 fixed penalty charge from 1995 to 1999 for England and Wales.
	(65) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types for 1999.
	Information on the number of speed related offences awaiting prosecution is not held centrally.

Speed Cameras

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) speed-related and (b) other criminal prosecutions have been made by use of speed camera equipment in each year since 1995; and what the average cost of prosecution per speed camera is.

John Denham: Available information on the number of fixed penalties and prosecutions for speeding and traffic light offences detected by cameras is shown in the table.
	Information is not collected centrally by my Department on whether speed camera evidence has been used in any other criminal prosecutions. Average cost figures for prosecutions per speed camera are also not available centrally.
	
		Fixed penalties and prosecutions for offences detected by cameras(66) -- England and Wales 1995 to 1999Number of offences
		
			 Year Fixed penalty(67) Prosecutions Total 
		
		
			 Speeding
			 1995 170,000 36,900 206,900 
			 1996 212,600 49,600 262,200 
			 1997 288,600 48,100 336,700 
			 1998 338,800 65,100 403,800 
			 1999 423,000 75,600 498,600 
			 
			 Traffic lights
			 1995 33,300 14,800 48,100 
			 1996 33,400 19,400 52,800 
			 1997 34,600 18,800 53,300 
			 1998 31,800 11,800 43,500 
			 1999 37,100 14,900 52,000 
			 
			 All offences
			 1995 203,300 51,700 255,000 
			 1996 246,000 67,000 312,900 
			 1997 323,200 66,900 390,000 
			 1998 370,500 76,800 447,400 
			 1999 460,100 90,500 550,600 
		
	
	(66) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types for 1999
	(67) Paid, ie no further action

Metropolitan Police Officers

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Metropolitan police officers have (a) retired, (b) resigned and (c) been dismissed in each of the last three years.

John Denham: The information set out in the table has been provided by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
	
		
			   199899 19992000 200001 
		
		
			 Retired(68) 1,087 839 685 
			 Resigned 332 361 359 
			 Required to resign 48 30 20 
			 Dismissed 10 15 10 
		
	
	(68) Includes medical retirements: 494, 285, 220, 153 (April to November)

James Ashley

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the publication of information concerning the fatal shooting of James Ashley in 1998.

John Denham: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 19 July 2001, Official Report, column 344W. Subsequently the Police Authority considered the matter and concluded that it is not possible at this stage to disclose the investigation reports.
	I have commissioned two other reports which will address matters relevant to this shooting:
	a report from the Sussex Police Authority under section 43 of the Police Act 1996 on the events surrounding the shooting and the action taken by Sussex police to ensure that they have responded appropriately.
	a report from the Police Complaints Authority under section 79 of the Police Act 1996 to consider the lessons to be learned from investigations supervised by the Police Complaints Authority since January 1998 into incidents in which police shootings resulted in death or injury.

Social Exclusion

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the administrative cost to the (a) state, (b) unsuccessful applicants and (c) successful applicants of the competitive grant schemes, provided by his Department and its agencies, open in each year since 1997 to organisations in the voluntary and community sector for the purposes of tackling social exclusion.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 12 December 2001
	No such estimate has been made. The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Home Office does, however, publish application criteria and guidance notes for each grant programme in the hope that this will reduce the number of inappropriate applications received.

Driving Convictions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there were for driving without motor insurance in the past five years.

John Denham: Available information on the number of convictions for the offence of 'using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks' is shown in the table.
	
		Findings of guilt at all courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks, England and Wales, 1995 to 1999
		
			 Year Convictions 
		
		
			 1995 283,141 
			 1996 267,932 
			 1997 257,689 
			 1998 256,974 
			 1999 259,552

Downview Prison

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 476W, on Downview Prison, what steps he will take to secure the immediate local transfer of male prisoners who are now in higher category prisons than Downview.

Beverley Hughes: As stated in the previous answer, in preparation for the change of role of Downview to a women's prison, 340 male prisoners were moved from the establishment between 17 July 2001 and 1 September 2001. No prisoners were moved out of the South East and none had their security category increased as part of this process.
	As far as possible prisoners were relocated to other category C training prisons/units or where appropriate were recategorised and transferred to an appropriate category D prison from Downview.
	One hundred and forty Downview prisoners were temporarily accommodated at Wormwood Scrubs in a separate wing, supervised by former Downview staff, in category C conditions. The majority of these prisoners were moved to category C training prisons or recategorised and transferred to appropriate category D prisons. A small number, for whom Wormwood Scrubs is a convenient location, have remained there in long term category C conditions.

Cyber-terrorism

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the measures to counter cyber-terrorism; what time scale is planned to build on the assessment; how much extra funding will be allocated to countering cyber-terrorism; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: The threat from computer-related attacks by terrorists or their supporters is kept under continuous review, as are measures to counter it. Government co-ordination of the effort to protect the United Kingdom critical national infrastructure is centred in the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC). The risk is assessed to be low, but growing. It could change rapidly at any time and our response will need to adjust to remain proportionate. I will keep closely under review the level of funding needed for this work.

Sports Clubs (Charitable Status)

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the number of sports clubs that will apply for charitable status following the decision to recognise healthy recreation as charitable.

Angela Eagle: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the Government Department that registers charities in England and Wales. The Chief Charity Commissioner will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

EU Treaty Bodies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations are referred to as representatives of other Treaty bodies under Article 1.12 of 12442/01, Council doc COPEN 56. 9 October 2001, Belgian Initiative on Joint Investigation Teams; and what (a) privileges and (b) immunities will be granted to these organisations.

Bob Ainsworth: Council document 12442/01 COPEN 56, now document 14242/01 COPEN 71 (Council Framework Decision on joint investigation teams) of 28 November 2001, is a joint initiative of Belgium, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. Paragraph 12 of Article 1 of the Framework Decision provides that the two or more member states setting up a joint investigation team may enter into arrangements for persons other than the representatives of the competent authorities of these member states to take part in the activities of the team. These other persons may include, but are not limited to, officials of bodies set up pursuant to the Treaty on the European Union. Such bodies include Europol, OLAF which is the European Community's anti-fraud office and, when the relevant Council Decision comes into effect, Eurojust. The Government are still considering what privileges and immunities, if any, should be granted to persons who are not representatives of United Kingdom competent authorities.

Prison Visitors

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if prison visitors to prisons run by private companies are subject to (a) fingerprints and (b) photographic records.

Beverley Hughes: Yes. Private prisons in England and Wales are required to meet appropriate security standards. Prisons which hold category A prisoners must have some form of visitor recognition system in place, and it is considered good practice in lower category prisons. However, it is for local management to decide exactly which form of visitor recognition system they employ or, for prisons that do not have category A prisoners, how they manage this issue without using such technology.

Tagging

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are on release under the tagging system; and what the equivalent figures have been in each year since the introduction of the system.

Beverley Hughes: As at midnight on 30 November 2001, a total of 1,786 prisoners were being monitored under the Home Detention Curfew scheme. The equivalent figures for 30 November 1999 and 30 November 2000 were 2,000 and 1,939 respectively. The scheme was introduced on 28 January 1999.

Women Prisoners (Wales)

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of women in the prison population are from Wales; and what the equivalent figures were for each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: Information is provided on the basis of a prisoner's court of committal as home address is not consistently recorded on central records.
	The information requested is given in the table 1 :
	
		
			  Total females Females committed in Wales Percentage of female population committed in Wales 
		
		
			 1998 3,120 119 3.8 
			 1999 3,207 119 3.7 
			 2000 3,355 126 3.8 
			 2001 3,713 138 3.7 
		
	
	(69) The information in the table is provisional and shows data as of 30 June each year for prisons in England and Wales. Data for 1997 were not available.
	For the latest date available (30 November 2001) there were 169 female prisoners in prisons in England and Wales who were committed in Wales. There were 4,022 female prisoners in total.

Criminal Records Bureau

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total annual cost is of the contract with Capita Services for the operation of the Criminal Records Bureau.

John Denham: holding answer 10 December 2001
	Payments are linked to the volume of disclosures processed, which are expected to increase significantly over the first few years of the contract. The estimated value of the 10-year contract with Capita is 450 million.

Criminal Records Bureau

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of establishing the Criminal Records Bureau in financial years (a) 200102 and (b) 200203.

John Denham: holding answer 10 December 2001
	The cost of establishing the Criminal Records Bureau for 200102 is estimated to be 14 million. In 200203, we estimate that it will cost 1 million to complete the setting up of the Bureau.

Visas

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of visitors on a one-year student visa travelled to other parts of the European Union during the course of visa validating in the last 12 months.

Angela Eagle: I regret that the information requested is not available.

Visas

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2001, Official Report, column 76W, on Pakistani nationals, how many Pakistani nationals holding UK visas have been refused entry to the UK since 11 September at Birmingham airport.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 6 November 2001
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 22 October 2001, Official Report, column 76W, to her earlier question about refusals of Pakistani nationals and to my letter of 31 October 2001 responding to her subsequent representations.
	Information on the number of Pakistani nationals refused leave to enter during 2001 are due to be published in the Command Paper Control of Immigration Statistics United Kingdom 2001 by the end of 2002.
	All nationals of Pakistan are required to obtain entry clearance. The majority of refusals in 2000 were the result of not having the correct entry clearance. Visas issued since 2 October 2000 confer leave to enter the United Kingdom upon the holder and a passenger with a visa as leave to enter will not normally require further examination. The immigration rules allow persons holding visas to be refused only in exceptional circumstances.

Game Licences

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of prosecutions there were in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available for shooting game without a game licence.

John Denham: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Shooting game without a game licence is an offence under Section 23 of the Game Act 1831. The number of defendants prosecuted for shooting game without a game licence cannot be separately identified, in information held centrally on the Home Office's Court Proceedings Database, from the number of defendants prosecuted for the offences of killing or taking of game without a licence by other means, laying poison to destroy game, taking or destroying eggs of game, killing game on Sunday or Christmas Day, killing game out of season and the occupier of land killing game without authority. Data showing the number of defendants prosecuted for all these offences during the years 19912000 are given in the table.
	
		Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for killing game without a licence(70) England and Wales, 19912000
		
			  Total number proceeded against 
		
		
			 1991 50 
			 1992 38 
			 1993 73 
			 1994 27 
			 1995 19 
			 1996 22 
			 1997 21 
			 1998 20 
			 1999 25 
			 2000(71) 9 
		
	
	(70) Also includes the offences of laying poison to destroy game, taking or destroying eggs of game, etc., killing game on Sunday or Christmas Day, killing game out of season, and occupier of land killing game without authority.
	(71) Staffordshire police force were able to submit only sample data for prosecutions at magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust at a detailed level and have been excluded from this table.
	Note:
	All data are given on a principal offence basis.

Channel Tunnel

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has made to his French counterpart on security on rail freight using the channel tunnel.

Angela Eagle: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised the current severe disruption to rail freight services through the channel tunnel with French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin on 29 November. He had previously written to M. Jospin on this subject on 16 November.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is in regular contact with his French counterpart Daniel Vaillant about the channel tunnel and other immigration matters. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport has both written and spoken to M. Gayssot, the French Transport Minister, emphasising the need for a speedy resolution.
	Home Office officials and those from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions are also in close contact with their French counterparts on a range of issues, including the security improvements required to allow the early resumption of full rail freight services. On 3 December, the head of security for SNCF informed the UK Immigration Service of their intention to speed up the improvements to anti-intrusion measures at the Frethun freight yard.

Prisoners

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce the prison population.

Beverley Hughes: The Government believe that prison is right for dangerous, serious and some persistent offenders and that sentences should be as long as necessary for punishment and public protection, but no longer.
	Home detention curfew plays an important role by enabling prisoners to be released from prison early, while still subject to restrictions placed on their liberty. This facilitates a smoother and more effective integration back into the community and helps offenders to secure or resume employment or training as soon as possible.
	The Government believe that community punishments can make a major impact and support their increased use, particularly for some non-violent offenders such as those convicted of theft and handling, or fraud. The Government's reform of the probation service, with its focus on reducing re-offending, means that rigorously enforced community sentences are a real and tough alternative to imprisonment. Changes already introduced, for example the Drug Testing and Treatment Order and the ability of Courts to impose community punishment, rehabilitation orders and curfew orders as one sentence, should enable sentencers to consider a robust community sentence as an alternative to imprisonment.
	In the longer term the proposed sentencing reforms, including sentencing guidelines and new flexible sentences incorporating both custody and supervision, should have a significant impact. In this context the Government are also exploring the scope for innovative new sentences, such as intermittent custody, and for restorative justice interventions.

Prisoners

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average distance was from the committal court at the time of release for (a) male prisoners, (b) female prisoners and (c) young offenders in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: Data are not available on the distance prisoners are held away from committal court at the time of release. However, data are collected periodically on the distance prisoners are currently held away from committal court. The latest figures, obtained on 30 September 2001 are set out in the table.
	
		Miles 
		
			  Population group Average distance prisoners are held away from committal court 
		
		
			 Male prisoners(72) 53 
			 Female prisoners(72) 63 
			 Young offenders(73) 50 
		
	
	(72) Including young offenders.
	(73) Male and female, including juveniles.

Prisoners

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bail information schemes are in operation in women's prisons; and how many staff work in each of them.

Beverley Hughes: Each of the seven female establishments that hold remand prisoners operate a bail information scheme. They are required to have sufficient trained staff to provide all eligible prisoners with the facilities necessary to assist in their applications for bail. These duties may be shared between a number of staff. The number of staff involved in providing bail information at one time will vary according to the size of the remand population.

Police Officers (London)

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of police officers for each London borough in each month since 1 July 1999 that (a) were in post, (b) left the service and (c) were recruited.

John Denham: The information requested has been provided by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and a table has been placed in the Library.

TREASURY

Stability and Growth Pact

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to submit an updated annual Convergence Programme as required by the Stability and Growth Pact.

Ruth Kelly: As required under the Stability and Growth Pact, an updated, annual Convergence Programme was submitted to the European Commission on 20 December 2001. Copies of the programme were placed in the Libraries of both Houses and are also available in the Vote Office.

European Investment Bank

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of the European Investment Bank's loans for projects in the United Kingdom in each year since 1992.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested, which has been obtained from EIB's annual reports, has been placed in the Library of the House.

Corporation Tax

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the receipts for advance corporation tax for each of the last 54 months.

Andrew Smith: Monthly receipts of advanced corporation tax (ACT) for April 1999 to November 2001 are given on the Inland Revenue website at: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/g_t03_1.htm.
	Figures for the months April 1997 to March 1999 are given in table 1.3 of Inland Revenue Statistics 1999.

Minimum Wage Unit

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2001, Official Report, column 323, in how many cases information has been passed by Inland Revenue staff to the National Minimum Wage Unit on non-compliant employers; and what the outcome of such investigations has been.

Andrew Smith: Nearly 5,000 working families tax credit applications have been the subject of an employer inquiry by NMW staff. Non-compliance has been identified in just over a third of such cases.

VAT

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received regarding the levying of VAT on managers' salaries in retirement accommodation where the service provider is not the freeholder; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: There have been a number of representations on this issue. However, there has been no change to the VAT treatment of such services. If future changes to employment regulations have the effect of altering the VAT treatment, parallel changes will be made to ensure there is no increased VAT charge on managers' services in retirement accommodation.

VAT

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was obtained from VAT charges on courses of (a) education, (b) training, (c) sports activity and (d) leisure activity in each year since 1997; and how much it costs each year to administer the collection of these charges.

Paul Boateng: The information requested is not available. However, education (including physical education) and vocational training in schools, universities, higher education colleges and further education colleges is free of VAT.

VAT

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the risk analysis system used by Customs and Excise for VAT control visiting is restricted to determining the (a) relative risk of different traders and (b) overall risk to the revenue.

Paul Boateng: Central risk analysis enables Customs to rank traders in order of relative risk, predict outcomes, and target resources to achieve greater compliance.
	Risk analysis is under continual development and Customs' definition of risk includes those likely to need support and education as well as the wilfully non- compliant.

VAT

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is his policy that a trader should receive a visit from Customs and Excise within the first three years of registering for VAT.

Paul Boateng: It is not Customs policy that a business should receive a visit within the first three years of registering for VAT for that reason alone.
	Currently all newly registered businesses are offered a programme of learning for VAT, including videos, seminars, meetings and visits. Customs are enhancing support and plan to make telephone contact with all newly registered businesses, around 190,000 a year, to offer support for them to meet their legal obligations.
	In addition businesses may contact the National Advice Service, launched in April 2001, to resolve queries.

VAT

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) local authorities, (b) voluntary organisations and (c) universities are paying VAT on courses of further education for adults; and if he will list the courses liable.

Paul Boateng: VAT is not paid on further education courses provided by local authorities, voluntary organisations that use surplus income for educational purposes, and universities.

VAT

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans Customs and Excise have to issue a VAT payer's charter setting out standards of service to VAT payers.

Paul Boateng: Customs and Excise have no plans to issue an additional VAT payers charter. Their standards of service to VAT payersand all other business customersare already set out in the Customs and Excise Charter, Notice 400 (most recent edition July 2001).

VAT

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each of the last 10 years (a) total VAT registrations and (b) total new registrations.

Paul Boateng: Information on the number of total VAT registrations and total new VAT registrations is available in the Departmental Annual Reports published by Customs and Excise.

Capital Gains Tax

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on what he bases his assessment that the changes to capital gains tax announced in the pre-Budget report will not create new loopholes for the treatment of income as capital gain;
	(2)  what measures he has taken to ensure that changes to capital gains tax, announced in the pre-Budget report, will not permit treatment of income as capital gain.

Andrew Smith: The proposed modifications to the taper relief rules for business assets are not expected to give rise to the creation of schemes for converting income to capital gain to any significant extent because the effective capital gains tax rate of 10 per cent. will not be reached until the asset in question has been held for two years, and because there are rules already in place which are designed to ensure that income is charged to income tax.
	We shall, however, be keeping the position under close review and will not hesitate to take action to protect the income tax yield if such schemes are introduced.

Carter Review

Edward Davey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of paragraphs 5.1 and 5.4 of the Carter Review of Payroll Services; what plans he has to align the treatment of benefits in kind for the purposes of national insurance and income tax; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: The Chancellor said in the pre-Budget report that the proposals in the Carter Review were a challenging but attractive package of measures. We have invited comments on the detail of the review's recommendations by 31 January 2002 so it would be inappropriate to comment on specific aspects of the report at this stage.

Tax Reform

Edward Davey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the Tax Law Reform Committee paper, Employed or Self Employed; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: We read the paper with interest when it was published in February 2001. Along with all other such publications, its contents are taken into consideration during relevant policy deliberations in the usual way.

Amateur Sports Clubs

John Greenway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 689W, on amateur sports clubs, what plans he has to provide funds to enable the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, to provide mandatory relief for community amateur sports clubs at the same level enjoyed by charities.

Paul Boateng: On 30 November, the Charity Commission announced that it would recognise as charitable the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation. Community amateur sports clubs that qualify for charitable status will be able to enjoy the tax relief that such status confers. This includes 80 per cent. mandatory rate relief in England and Wales (fully centrally funded), with a further 20 per cent. available at the discretion of the local authority (75 per cent. centrally funded, with the local authority funding the remaining 25 per cent.). Any reduction in the total amount of business rates collected is automatically offset by an increase in total revenue support grant paid to local authorities.

Amateur Sports Clubs

John Greenway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many community amateur sports clubs have (a) a turnover of less than 15,000 and (b) a rental income less than 10,000.

Paul Boateng: The number of community amateur sports clubs across the UK with a turnover of less than 15,000 and a rental income of less than 10,000 will vary from year to year. It is the Government's intention to recognise the positive contribution that such clubs make to their local communities. On 30 November, a consultation documentationPromoting Sport in the Communitywas launched, seeking views from interested parties on the best way to support community amateur sports clubs.

Amateur Sports Clubs

John Greenway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 689W, on amateur sports clubs, whether he will include relief from the climate change levy in his proposals for tax relief for community amateur sports clubs.

Paul Boateng: A consultation documentPromoting Sport in the Communitywas launched on 30 November, seeking views on the best way to support community amateur sports clubs. The document is held in the House Library. A number of options are available. Comments are invited and responses to the consultation will help to shape the support we shall offer.
	On 30 November, the Charity Commission announced that it would recognise as charitable the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation by the provision of facilities for the playing of particular sports. The climate change levy does not apply to energy used by charities for charitable purposes.

Amateur Sports Clubs

John Greenway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Performance and Innovation Unit regarding support for community amateur sports clubs.

Paul Boateng: The Treasury is in regular dialogue with the Performance and Innovation Unit, which is currently undertaking a wider review of the legal and regulatory framework for charities. The Treasury launched a consultation documentPromoting Sport in the Communityon 30 November, seeking views from interested parties before finalising decisions on the best way to support CASCs. The consultation document is separate from the work of the Performance and Innovation Unit, but will have regard to the conclusions of that separate review and in the course of deciding the best way forward, responses to the consultation will be shared with the Performance and Innovation Unit.

Smuggling

Bill Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many lorries were confiscated by customs officers for smuggling (a) cigarettes, (b) tobacco and (c) alcohol in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000 and (iii) 2001.

Paul Boateng: Customs do not maintain aggregate vehicle seizure records by type or nature of offence. Details on the total number of vehicles seized by Customs in 199899 and 19992000 are published in Customs annual reports for those years. Similar details for 200001 were published in the document Tackling Indirect Tax Fraud as part of the pre-Budget report.

Smuggling

Bill Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many drivers employed by hauliers were (a) arrested and (b) prosecuted for smuggling (i) cigarettes, (ii) tobacco and (iii) alcohol in (A) 1999, (B) 2000 and (C) 2001.

Paul Boateng: The information requested is not available.

Vehicle Seizures

Bill Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid by hauliers to HM Customs and Excise for the release of their lorries in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, and (c) 2001.

Paul Boateng: Customs records of money received for vehicle restoration do not distinguish between types of vehicles or those paying restoration charges. The Customs and Excise annual reports for 199899 and 19992000 give details of the total restoration sums paid in those years in respect of all seized vehicles.

Winter Deaths

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many excess winter deaths there were in each of the last 15 years.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) on 25 October 2001, Official Report, column 376W.

Labour Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) men and (b) women aged (i) 50 to 54, (ii) 55 to 59, (iii) 60 to 64 and (iv) 65 to 69 years were (a) in full-time work, (b) in part-time work, (c) unemployed, (d) long-term sick and disabled and (e) retired in each of the last 10 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question about how many men and women aged 50 to 54, 55 to 59, and 60 to 64 years were in full-time work, in part-time work, unemployed, long term sick and disabled and retired in each of the last ten years (25175). I am replying in his absence.
	The information requested is given in the table overleaf.
	
		Men and women by age by economic activity, spring (March to May) 19922001United Kingdom -- Not seasonally adjustedThousand
		
			   of which:  
			 Spring Total(74) Full time work Part time work Unemployed Economically inactive Long term sick and disabled Retired 
		
		
			 Men
			 Age 5054
			 1992 1,522 1,178 44 134 166 .. .. 
			 1993 1,546 1,169 51 142 184 136 * 
			 1994 1,588 1,184 56 142 206 143 * 
			 1995 1,634 1,246 62 115 210 151 * 
			 1996 1,684 1,278 66 105 228 162 18 
			 1997 1,824 1,385 84 92 262 184 18 
			 1998 1,919 1,487 84 79 270 183 20 
			 1999 1,966 1,519 91 83 273 187 24 
			 2000 1,995 1,529 102 89 275 181 28 
			 2001 2,013 1,585 87 62 278 189 22 
			 Age 5559
			 1992 1,435 934 61 126 314 .. .. 
			 1993 1,448 892 69 135 352 222 55 
			 1994 1,466 904 82 130 351 223 54 
			 1995 1,477 896 80 112 388 247 62 
			 1996 1,464 902 90 109 362 229 64 
			 1997 1,473 912 98 88 375 232 71 
			 1998 1,497 939 102 75 382 251 65 
			 1999 1,539 975 109 74 381 239 75 
			 2000 1,583 1,005 116 63 399 248 79 
			 2001 1,645 1,055 138 48 402 230 101 
			 Age 6064
			 1992 1,371 561 88 74 648 .. .. 
			 1993 1,363 519 91 101 651 281 237 
			 1994 1,353 520 89 80 664 331 220 
			 1995 1,346 508 99 67 672 334 231 
			 1996 1,334 498 108 59 679 322 235 
			 1997 1,347 520 121 53 653 318 233 
			 1998 1,362 511 116 47 688 334 252 
			 1999 1,382 522 130 45 685 342 246 
			 2000 1,394 530 129 41 693 322 264 
			 2001 1,389 538 134 37 678 324 266 
			 
			 Women
			 Age 5054
			 1992 1,535 489 519 57 471 .. .. 
			 1993 1,561 525 508 60 467 145 23 
			 1994 1,602 535 542 59 467 146 22 
			 1995 1,649 577 532 55 486 173 20 
			 1996 1,708 572 578 55 501 173 30 
			 1997 1,840 658 613 53 515 194 26 
			 1998 1,937 697 651 46 542 217 26 
			 1999 1,985 759 629 44 553 217 34 
			 2000 2,013 777 641 46 549 221 33 
			 Age 5559 
			 1992 1,485 338 428 36 665 .. .. 
			 1993 1,477 326 431 48 672 209 105 
			 1994 1,497 345 431 54 658 213 118 
			 1995 1,610 356 445 40 659 227 118 
			 1996 1,498 352 428 35 887 244 115 
			 1997 1,508 350 410 38 708 265 119 
			 1998 1,631 382 425 29 695 282 129 
			 1998 1,873 408 439 31 694 266 130 
			 2000 1,819 440 485 29 688 282 128 
			 2001 1,881 488 491 20 703 265 148 Age 6064 
			 1992 1,475 112 226 .. 1,130 .. .. 
			 1993 1,450 113 233 15 1,099 131 551 
			 1994 1,439 102 253 10 1,073 180 663 
			 1995 1,421 103 247 .. 1,088 165 880 
			 1996 1,400 111 248 .. 1,065 158 687 
			 1997 1,410 117 254 .. 1,032 162 687 
			 1998 1,424 98 234 .. 1,085 188 734 
			 1999 1,444 113 229 .. 1,084 174 736 
			 2000 1,457 111 259 .. 1,080 140 764 
			 2001 1,452 110 283 .. 1,053 134 773 
		
	
	(74)Includes other economic activities.
	(75)Sample size too small for reliable estimate.
	.. Due to a questionnaire routing error Spring 1992 inactive categories are not available.
	Source:
	ONSLabour Force Survey

Labour Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the number of employee jobs by industry in the Buckingham constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 December 2001
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of employee jobs by industry in the Buckingham constituency. (24842)
	The total number of employee jobs in the Buckingham constituency for each year are shown in the table below:
	
		Buckingham constituency employee jobs
		
			 Year Number of jobs 
		
		
			 1996 20,099 
			 1997 20,328 
			 1998 23,764 
			 1999 21,610 
			 2000 21,427 
		
	
	Source:
	A comparable series is available from the Annual Employment Survey (19961997) and the Annual Business Inquiry (19982000)
	Industry detail is accessible in the House of Commons Library from terminals linked to the Nomis database.

Labour Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of working age people in the Buckingham constituency were in employment in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have been asked to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. John Bercow dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the proportion of working age people in employment in the Buckingham constituency. I am replying in his absence. (24845)
	The table below shows the information requested.
	
		Working age(76) employment rate(77) for the Buckingham constituency; 1997 to 2000
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 March 1997-February 1998 84.3 
			 March 1998-February 1999 81.4 
			 March 1999-February 2000 84.3 
			 March 2000-February 2001 83.7 
		
	
	(76) Men aged 1664 and women aged 1659
	(77) Those in employment as a percentage of all persons of working age
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey (Annual LADB dataset)

Labour Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average length of time that currently unemployed men aged (a) 50 to 54, (b) 55 to 59 and (c) 60 to 64 years have remained unemployed.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the average length of time that currently unemployed men aged 50 to 54, 55 to 59 and 60 to 64 years have remained unemployed. I am replying in his absence. (25170).
	The table below shows numbers of men in these age groups according to their duration of unemployment. Information on the average length of time unemployed is not available.
	
		Duration of unemployment for males by agespring (March to May) 2001 United Kingdom -- Not seasonally adjustedThousand
		
			  Age  
			  5054 5559 6064 
		
		
			 Total(78) 62 48 37 
			 Less than three months 17 10 12 
			 Three months but less than six months (79) (79) (79) 
			 Six months but less than 12 months 11 (79) (79) 
			 One year or more 25 26 15 
		
	
	(78) Includes people who did not state how long they had been unemployed
	(79) Sample size too small for reliable estimate
	Source:
	ONSLabour Force Survey

Lone Mothers

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of single lone mothers are in (a) part-time work, (b) full-time work and (c) all paid work.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the proportion of single mothers that are in part-time work, full-time work and all paid work. I am replying in his absence. (25169).
	The information requested is given in the table below.
	
		Lone mothers by whether working full or part-time as percentage of allSpring 2001 -- Not seasonally adjustedUnited Kingdom
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 All lone mothers(80) (million) 1.471 
			 (Per cent.) 100 
			 Of which:  
			 All in employment (Per cent.) 49.9 
			 full-time (Per cent.) 22.7 
			 part-time (Per cent.) 27.2 
		
	
	(80) Includes those lone mothers whose economic status is not known, but percentages are based on totals which exclude this group.
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey Household datasets

Cot Deaths

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cot deaths there were in each of the last five years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Simon Burns, dated 8 December 2001
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking how many cot deaths there were in each of the last five years. (24646)
	The figures requested are given in the table below.
	
		Number of cot deaths that occurred in England and Wales during 19962000
		
			 Calendar year Number of deaths 
		
		
			 1996 424 
			 1997 393 
			 1998 286 
			 1999 279 
			 2000(81) 243 
		
	
	(81) Provisional
	Source:
	Health Statistics Quarterly 11, Report: Sudden infant deaths

Cancer

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many men were diagnosed with testicular cancer in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Simon Burns, dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many men were diagnosed with testicular cancer in (a) 2001, (b) 2000, (c) 1999, (d) 1998 and (e) 1997. I am replying in his absence. (24642)
	There were 1,411 registrations of newly diagnosed cases of testicular cancer in England in 1997 and 1,541 in 1998. (Source: 1997: Office for National Statistics. 'Cancer statisticsregistrations, England, 19951997'. 1998: 'Cancer: number of new cases, 1998, by sex and age' at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/ Spreadsheets/D4505.xls). Comparable information is not yet available for 1999, 2000, and 2001.

Cancer

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women were (a) diagnosed with and (b) died due to breast cancer in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Simon Burns, dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many women were (a) diagnosed with and (b) died owing to breast cancer in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999, (iv) 2000 and (v) 2001. I am replying in his absence. (24648).
	The available information on the numbers of new cases, and deaths from, breast cancer in females (all ages) in England from 1997 onwards is given in the table below.
	
		
			  Cases Deaths 
		
		
			 1997 31,380 11,240 
			 1998 32,908 11,005 
			 1999 (82) 10,856 
			 2000 (82) 10,609 
		
	
	(82) Not yet available.
	Source:
	Cases1997: Office for National Statistics. 'Cancer statisticsregistrations, England', 199597. Series MBI no.28. London: The Stationery Office, 2001.
	1998: 'Cancer: number of new cases, 1998; by sex and age' at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/ D4505.xls.
	DeathsMortality statistics: Cause, Series DH2 Nos. 24, 25, 26 and 27. Figures are for deaths where the underlying cause was coded to 174 using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.

Cancer

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the five year survival rates for (a) breast, (b) lung, (c) cervical, (d) colon, (e) stomach, (f) prostate and (g) bladder cancer are (i) nationally, (ii) in the Buckinghamshire health authority area and (iii) in the South East regional office area.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply. Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 January 2002: The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what the five year survival rates for (a) breast, (b) lung, (c) cervical, (d) colon, (e) stomach, (f) prostate and (g) bladder cancer are (i) nationally, (ii) in the Buckinghamshire Health Authority area and (iii) in the South East Regional Office area. I am replying in his absence. (24852) At the national level, figures are routinely presented for men and women separately, while those at regional and local levels are given for persons only. The latest available information is given in this format in the table below.
	
		Five-year relative survival (%), persons diagnosed in 199294 and followed up to 31 December 1999: selected cancers, England, South East Regional Office area and Buckinghamshire Health Authority area -- Percentage
		
			   England South-East Buckinghamshire 
			 Cancer site Men Women Persons Persons 
		
		
			 Breast*  75.0 76.4 78 
			 Lung 5.1 5.3 5.2 4.8 
			 Cervix : 65.2 65.4 64 
			 Colon 42.6 42.1 45.7 44 
			 Stomach 10.0 10.8 11.7 8.3 
			 Prostate 54.9 : 57.9 57 
			 Bladder 66.2 57.9 67.7 72 
		
	
	*Figures for breast exclude the very small numbers of cases in men.
	Source:'Cancer Survival: five year relative survival rates in England by Health Authority up to 1999' at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D4878.xls.
	Corresponding survival rates for cervical, stomach, bladder and oesophageal cancer are unpublished, but will be placed on the website in January 2002.

Charities (Donations)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to encourage public donations to charitable organisations.

Ruth Kelly: In April 2000 the Government introduced a number of measures to encourage greater charitable giving. The Getting Britain Giving package of measures included improvements to the gift aid and payroll giving schemes and a new income tax relief for giving shares to charities. The Government are supporting The Giving Campaign, led by the charitable sector, to promote the new reliefs and encourage a culture of giving.
	The Chancellor has also asked the Inland Revenue to consult charities on an innovation which would allow gift aid donations to be made, and relief claimed, when people complete their annual tax returns.

Andorra

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to (a) monitor the incidence of and (b) take action against smuggling from Andorra to the United Kingdom.

Paul Boateng: HM Customs and Excise include the risk of smuggling from Andorra in the overall intelligence- based assessments which inform the deployment of the Department's resources.

Tax Credits

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in the Portsmouth, South constituency (a) received and (b) were entitled to (i) WFTC, (ii) DPTC and (iii) child tax credit in (A) 200001 and (B) 200102.

Andrew Smith: The numbers in Portsmouth, South receiving the working families tax credit (WFTC) and the disabled person's tax credit (DPTC) at May 2001 and August 2001 are shown in Working Families and Disabled Person's Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses. The equivalent numbers for April 2000 to April 2001 (DPTC) and for May 2000 to February 2001 (WFTC) are shown in the respective Quarterly Enquiries, although these numbers for WFTC are estimates based on a 5 per cent. sample of awards and are therefore subject to sampling error. Copies of the Geographical analyses and the Quarterly Enquiries are in the Library.
	No estimates are available of the numbers in Portsmouth, South eligible for these tax credits.
	It is estimated that around 5 million families will benefit from the children's tax credit for 200102. It is not known how many of these are in Portsmouth, South, although it is estimated that 675,000 are in the south-east (excluding London).

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what means the child care element of the working tax credit will be paid to the main carer.

Dawn Primarolo: In the light of representations received in response to consultation, the Government have decided that the child care element of the working tax credit will be paid direct to the main carer, alongside payments of the child tax credit.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many WFTC recipients have (a) no income tax liability and (b) an income tax liability that is (i) lower and (ii) higher than the value of their WFTC entitlement.

Andrew Smith: A family's income tax liability is defined only for a complete fiscal year, and is based on the incomes and other circumstances of the adult(s) in that year. Working families tax credit (WFTC) awards can start throughout the year, are for 26 weeks, and the value of an award depends on the net weekly income of the family and other circumstances of the family measured at the time of the application. This means that the income tax liability of a WFTC recipient family cannot normally be determined from the data reported on the application form.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 18 October 2001, Official Report, column 1296W, how much each of the campaigns publicising the working families tax credit cost.

Andrew Smith: The total marketing communications spend for WFTC for 200001 was 7,403,191.
	The total amount spent for 200102 to date is 1,480,806.

Film Industry

Tim Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many British films produced in 19992000 claimed the 100 per cent. tax write off during the first year; and what the total loss was in tax revenue resulting from these claims.

Andrew Smith: In 19992000 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport certified 76 British qualifying films costing less than 15 million under the Films Act 1985. The estimated tax cost of relief provided to British qualifying films under section 48 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 1997 is 85 million for films produced in 19992000, over double the amount that would have been available under the previous arrangement.

Film Industry

Tim Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met Mr. Jack Velenti of the Motion Picture Association of America; and what representations he has received from Mr. Velenti about extending the section 48 tax concession permitting qualifying British films with budgets under 15 million to claim 100 per cent. write-off in the first year.

Andrew Smith: The Chancellor receives numerous Budget representations, from a variety of sources. All taxes are kept under review and decisions are made as part of the normal Budget process. The expiry date for the tax relief provided by section 48 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 1997 was extended by three years to 1 July 2005 by Section 72 of the Finance Act 2001.

Scottish Provident Institution

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the Scottish Provident Institution and the performance of the FSA in dealing with matters raised by Scottish Provident Action for Membership; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: We regularly receive representations about a wide spectrum of issues.

Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the marginal rates of tax and benefit withdrawal for pensioners are (a) in 200102 and (b) from October 2003.

Ruth Kelly: Pensioners currently face a variety of marginal deduction rates (MDRs), which range from 10 per cent. for those who are liable to pay tax at the lower rate only to 100 per cent. for those with incomes below the minimum income guarantee (MIG). Following the introduction of the pension credit (PC) in October 2003, pensioners will still face MDRs between 10 and 100 per cent. However, some 1.6 million pensioner households that currently face MDRs of 100 per cent., which will be eligible for the PC, will see their rate cut to 40 per cent. This is because pensioner households will receive 60 pence for every 1 of income they have above the level of the basic state pension (BSP) up to a maximum of 13.80 per week to reward them for saving for their retirement.

Child Poverty

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Regents Park and Kensington, North (Ms Buck) of 27 November 2001, Official Report, column 868W, if the figure for the number of children lifted out of poverty since 1997 is net; and according to the same definition of poverty, how many children have entered poverty since 1997.

Andrew Smith: As a result of personal tax and benefit measures announced in the last Parliament, there are 1.2 million fewer children in poverty than there would otherwise have been.

Capital Assets

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 765W, on capital assets, which definition of investment he used in answering on (a) on the level of investment provided through PFI and (b) the level of total investment; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: Capital spending provided through PFI can be classified in national accounts as either investment by the public sector or by the private sector. The term private sector investment through PFI refers to PFI capital spending that is classified to the private sector.
	Total investment in public services includes all capital expenditure financed through PFI, regardless of how that spending is classified in national accounts. It is measured gross of asset sales and before deducting depreciation.

Capital Assets

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 889W, on capital assets, if he will place in the Library information on the accounting treatment of the public private partnership projects relating to (a) office automation in Customs and Excise, (b) NIRS2, (c) Manchester Inland Revenue offices, (d) Stockport Inland Revenue, (e) Bootle St. John's House, (f) Newcastle Estate Development Scheme, (g) CCTA MTS Telecoms Service and (h) Treasury GOGGS Building; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Project Accounting treatment 
		
		
			 Office automation in Customs and Excise The initial contract and subsequent additions were reviewed to decide the appropriate accounting treatment for the PFI contract. The Department used FRS 5, Reporting the substance of contracts, and the methodology prescribed in the Treasury Taskforce, Private Finance, Technical Note No.1 (revised), How to account for PFI transactions to determine the appropriate accounting treatment. The work carried out showed that the risks of ownership were borne by the provider and that the Department should not capitalise the assets. 
			   
			 NIRS2 The arrangements for this project pre-dated the issue of the Treasury guidance. The accounting treatment for the Inland Revenue projects mentioned is reported in note 22 of the Department's 200001 resource accounts. The projects are operating leases and consequently are not included in the Department's balance sheet as fixed assets. 
			   
			 Manchester Inland Revenue Offices Inland Revenue follows Treasury guidance and adopts the processes therein. The accounting treatment for the Inland Revenue projects mentioned is reported in note 22 of the Department's 200001 resource accounts. The projects are operating leases and consequently are not included in the Department's balance sheet as fixed assets. 
			 Stockport Inland Revenue Inland Revenue follows Treasury guidance and adopts the processes therein. The accounting treatment for the Inland Revenue projects mentioned is reported in note 22 of the Department's 200001 resource accounts. The projects are operating leases and consequently are not included in the Department's balance sheet as fixed assets. 
			   
			 Bootle St. Johns House Inland Revenue follows Treasury guidance and adopts the processes therein. The accounting treatment for the Inland Revenue projects mentioned is reported in note 22 of the Department's 200001 resource accounts. The projects are operating leases and consequently are not included in the Department's balance sheet as fixed assets. 
			   
			 Newcastle Estate Development Scheme Inland Revenue follows Treasury guidance and adopts the processes therein. The accounting treatment for the Inland Revenue projects mentioned is reported in note 22 of the Department's 200001 resource accounts. The projects are operating leases and consequently are not included in the Department's balance sheet as fixed assets. 
			   
			 MTS Telecomms Service OGCbuying.solutions, CCTA's successor body managing the telecoms contract service on behalf of Departments, follows Treasury guidance and adopts the processes therein. The outcomes of applying the guidance are as follows: 
			  On 1 January 1997, some telecommunications assets were transferred to Racal Telecom as part of an agreement under which Racal undertook to provide telecommunication services under agreed terms for a period of 10 years. 
			  Racal Telecomm (now Global Crossing) agreed as payment for those assets to abate the agreed level of payments for services under the contract, by an amount of 400,000 per annum for 10 years. The value of the payments over the 10 year period were sufficient to cover the book value of the assets at the time of transfer plus interest for the deferred payment schedule. 
			  The original 4 million was treated as a deferred debtor in the accounts of CCTA, following advice from NAO. The abatements (400k per annum) reduce the deferred debtor on an on-going basis. This treatment has carried forward from April 2001 to OGCbuying.solutions accounts. 
			   
			 HM Treasury GOGGS Building The Treasury's PFI agreement for refurbishment of its new building will take effect during 200203. The accounting treatment has yet to be decided. The agreement will be recorded in the Treasury's 200001 accounts as a post-balance sheet event.

Aggregates Levy

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will delay introduction of the aggregates levy in Scotland.

Paul Boateng: The Government will not delay the introduction of the aggregates levy in Scotland, as this would only serve to delay the environmental benefits the levy will deliver.

Enterprise Management Incentives

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the forecast cost in the next financial year of administering enterprise management incentives.

Andrew Smith: A Regulatory Impact Assessment was published in November 1999. It is available in the House of Commons Library.
	The cost to the Inland Revenue of administering EMI is about 450,000 annually.

European Monetary Institute

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultations the Government have undertaken with the European Monetary Institute as provided for by the Treaty on European Union.

Ruth Kelly: The European Monetary Institute was replaced by the European central bank at the start of stage three of EMU. The Chancellor meets regularly with central bank Governors and ministerial colleagues from other countries, including representatives from the euro area.

Single Currency

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses resident in the Buckingham constituency have contacted the Treasury requesting information on the single currency.

Ruth Kelly: Information is not readily available on the basis requested.
	However, the Treasury euro information line has received over 450 requests from businesses in Buckinghamshire for information and advice on working with the euro now. In addition, there have been over 250,000 visits to the Treasury euro website since it was relaunched by the Chancellor on 29 March 2001. At a local level, the South East Euro Awareness Forum (SEEAF) also provides information and advice and has been involved in over 35 seminars for businesses in the south east of England.

ISAs

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals in the Buckingham constituency have invested in (a) cash ISAs, (b) mini-ISAs and (c) maxi- ISAs in each year since their introduction.

Ruth Kelly: Estimates at a sub-national level of subscriptions to ISAs are not currently available.

Customs and Excise

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the targets applied by Customs and Excise in the last five financial years for the length of time after registration for all traders to be visited.

Paul Boateng: Customs does not set targets on the length of time after registration for businesses to be visited. Visits are conducted on the basis of a detailed risk analysis applied to all registered businesses.
	Currently all newly registered businesses are offered a programme of learning for VAT, including videos, seminars, meetings and visits. Customs are enhancing support and plan to make telephone contact with all newly registered businesses, around 190,000 a year, to offer support for them to meet their legal obligations.
	In addition businesses may contact the National Advice Service, launched in April 2001, to resolve queries.

Contraband

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what quantities and value of contraband of (a) tobacco, (b) drugs, (c) alcohol and (d) other goods was seized by Customs and Excise in each of the last four years; what quantity and value of contraband alcohol was disposed of, and at what cost; and what are equivalent figures for the latest previous years for which statistics are available;
	(2)  if he will list for each of the last 10 years the quantities and estimated value of contraband seized, categorised by type, and indicate the means by which it has been destroyed.

Andrew Smith: Details of goods seizedincluding, where appropriatetheir value, can be found in Customs Annual Reports, available from the House of Commons Library. Full seizure figures for 200001 will be published in the Annual Report for that year in due course. Details of tobacco seizures for 200001 were published in Customs' Tackling Indirect Tax Fraud paper on 27 November, also available from the House Library.
	The disposal of alcohol and tobacco is covered by a single contract which also includes storage and transportation, and it is not possible to distinguish between the costs that relate to each commodity.
	Seized goods are in general disposed of as follows:
	
		
			 Goods Disposal 
		
		
			 Drugs Burned at secure Government establishments 
			 Firearms Handed over the police firearms squads 
			 Alcohol products Recycled into agricultural feed or low grade spirit fuel, or poured away 
			 Tobacco products Shredded and compressed into pellets for furnace fuel 
			 Live animals Handed over to RSPCA quarantine facilities 
			 Endangered species Handed over to zoos or returned to their country of origin

Taxpayers

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage of total income received by (a) the top one per cent, (b) the top five per cent, (c) the top 10 per cent, (d) the bottom 70 per cent and (e) the bottom 10 per cent of tax payers in 200001.

Andrew Smith: The information is in the table:
	
		
			  Group of taxpayers Percentage of total taxable income received(83) 
		
		
			 (a) The top 1 per cent. 12 
			 (b) The top 5 per cent. 24 
			 (c) The top 10 per cent. 34 
			 (d) The bottom seventy per cent. 41 
			 (e) The bottom ten per cent. 3 
		
	
	(83) Non taxable income such as that from ISAs is not included as this information is not available on an individual basis.
	These estimates are based on the 19992000 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with the November 2001 pre-Budget report.

Share Incentive Plan

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was spent by the Government on research into the name of the Share Incentive Plan.

Ruth Kelly: In 1999 we commissioned a programme of research to develop a name for the All Employee Share Ownership Plan which companies and their employees would find meaningful and easy to use. This was in line with the general practice in communicating new incentives, and was in response to the views of the business community that they found the name All Employee Share Ownership Plan confusing and difficult to communicate.
	The research involved employers and employees from a wide range of businesses. Employees expressed an overwhelming preference for Share Incentive Plan. The total cost of the research was 110,000.

Tax Self-assessment

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate of the overall impact on business of the introduction of tax self-assessment, disaggregated into (a) estimated extra costs and (b) estimated savings.

Andrew Smith: These figures are not available. There is no reliable measure of the costs to business prior to self-assessment. Consequently, there is no pre-self- assessment baseline of costs against which any additional costs or savings as a result of self-assessment could sensibly be measured.

Alcohol Duty

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the operation of the procedures for assessing and collecting duty from cross-channel travellers who return with purchases of alcohol; and what advice is given to businesses on the procedures to be followed.

Paul Boateng: Cross-channel travellers who purchase duty-paid alcohol in another member state may bring that alcohol back to the UK without payment of UK duty if it is for their own personal use.
	For businesses or individuals wishing to import alcohol for commercial purposes, there are three ways in which they may do so, and Customs and Excise public notices give advice on the procedures to be followed.
	Notice 197 (importation under duty-suspension to a UK warehouse)
	Notice 203 (importation by a registered excise trader)
	Notice 204 (importation by a non-registered excise trader).

Ministerial Offices

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were, (a) the running costs of his Ministers' private offices, separately identifying expenditure on staff and (b) the running costs of his Department in each of the last four years in real terms.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested is as follows:
	
		 million 
		
			   (a) Ministers' private office  
			 Running costs at 200001 prices Total of which staff (b) HM Treasury 
		
		
			 199798 2.7 1.9 67.8 
			 199899 3.2 2.1 71.0 
			 19992000 3.3 2.2 10.3 
			 200001 3.6 2.4 83.5

Pay Review

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what pay review body recommendations he is considering.

Andrew Smith: The pay review bodies report to the Prime Minister and to departmental Ministers, and it is primarily for the relevant departmental Ministers to consider any recommendations. The regular annual reports from the Review Body for Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine (NPRB) and the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) have already been completed and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced on 17 December the Government's acceptance of their recommendations. We are considering a special report on senior civil service pay from the Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB) and expect to publish the Report and announce the Government's response shortly. Other reports from the pay review bodies will be considered as they come forward.

Public Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the privatisation of the Paymaster Agency on the Treasury's access to information needed to monitor and control public expenditure.

Andrew Smith: Privatisation of the Paymaster Agency has had no effect on the Treasury's access to such information.

Taxes

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish an annual statement of the effect of his direct and indirect taxation measures on the disposable incomes of (a) the bottom 10 per cent. and (b) the bottom 20 per cent. of income earners.

Andrew Smith: The Government publish a range of statistics and analyses showing the impact of their tax and benefit policies across the income distribution in the Budget and pre-Budget report documentation.

Correspondence

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters he has received from residents in the Buckingham constituency regarding annuities in the last 12 months.

Ruth Kelly: Two letters on this subject have been identified as coming from the Buckingham constituency.

Bank of England

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions since 1971 the Treasury has exercised its powers under section 4 of the Bank of England Act 1946 to give directions to the Bank of England.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has on no occasion since 1971 exercised its powers under section 4 of the Bank of England Act 1946 to give directions to the Bank of England.

Government Debt

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the distribution of Government debt between the banking and non-banking sectors in each month since the 2001 Budget.

Ruth Kelly: Since the 2001 Budget, the proportion of British Government debt held by banks has averaged 1.7 per cent. The monthly amount of Government debt held by the UK banking sector is:
	
		2001
		
			  Total central government debt Debt held by UK banking sector Proportion of debt held by UK banks 
			  ( million) ( million) (Percentage) 
		
		
			 April 366,217 4,258 1.2 
			 May 368,298 5,774 1.6 
			 June 373,015 6,602 1.8 
			 July 369,921 6,509 1.8 
			 August 369,986 6,439 1.7 
			 September 368,919 7,997 2.2 
		
	
	Source:
	Financial Statistics, November 2001

Government Debt

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Government's policy on the proportion of Government debt to be sold to the banking sector.

Ruth Kelly: The Government do not have a specific policy on the proportion of their debt sold to the banking sector. Government debt is sold via auctions, which are open to all bidders via the gilt-edged market-makers. The Government do not influence the proportion of debt that is sold to a particular type of investor.

Vocational Training

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have claimed tax relief for vocational training in each of the last four years; and what has been the cost to public funds in each year.

Andrew Smith: Vocational training tax relief (VTR) was abolished with effect from 31 August 2000. The number of claims received and the estimated cost of tax relief for the last four years of the relief are as follows:
	
		
			 Year Claims received(84) Cost of tax relief(85) ( million) 
		
		
			 200001 200,000 30 
			 19992000 200,000 60 
			 199899 170,000 50 
			 199798 100,000 25 
		
	
	(84) Number of claims received and not the number of trainees as an individual could make more than one claim in a tax year. It was estimated that there were probably about 200,000 people claiming VTR in 199798 and 199899
	(85) On an accrued basis

Tax Coding

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number and proportion of incorrect notices of tax coding for 200102 which the Inland Revenue has sent out; and what are the principal reasons for errors.

Andrew Smith: Error rates covering all notices of tax codings for a tax year are not computed and we have not yet reached the end of 200102.
	Quality monitoring for 200001 showed that around 5 million taxpayers received a revised notice of tax coding during the year of which 889,000 (about 15 per cent.) were incorrect. The main reasons for error were failing to correctly update benefits in kind in accordance with information provided by the employer and failing to restore the coding to a cumulative basis following a change of employment. We are seeking significant improvement in this area this year through our on-going quality assurance and quality control programme.

EU Payments

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the payments the United Kingdom will be obliged to make to the European Union in each of the next four years.

Ruth Kelly: The Government's latest estimate of the United Kingdom's net contribution to the EC Budget in 200102 together with forecasts of the trended net contribution for 200203 and 200304 can be found at footnote 2 to Table B13 of the pre-Budget report (Cm 5318). Forecasts for years beyond 200304 are not currently available.

Investment Publications

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a list of the investment publications to which Her Majesty's Treasury subscribes.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury subscribes to the following publications which cover investment and related subjects.
	Accountancy Age
	Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin
	Bloomberg Money
	Business AM
	Business Week
	Economist
	Financial Adviser
	Futures and Options Week
	Futures and Options World
	Investors Chronicle
	Investment Week
	Money Management
	Money Marketing
	What Investment

Unemployment

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of working age people in the Buckingham constituency lived in a household where no adult worked in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 January 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the proportion of working age people living in workless households in the Buckingham constituency. I am replying in his absence.(24846)
	Information on households where no adult has worked in a given period is not compiled at constituency level.

ECOFIN Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the outcome was of the ECOFIN Council held in Brussels on 13 December; what the Government's position was on each issue discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor and the Paymaster General attended ECOFIN on 13 December.
	On the introduction of the euro the Commission summarised the main points of the recently published Eurobarometer poll.
	ECOFIN agreed a statement of the economic situation, which was submitted to the Laeken European Council.
	The Commission reported that important progress had been made on implementation of the financial services action plan under the Belgian presidency. Six new proposals would be tabled by the Commission in 2002, including an update of the Investment Services Directive and the Capital Adequacy Directive. The Commission planned a mid-term review of the action plan before the Barecelona European Council in March 2002.
	ECOFIN agreed a general orientation on a directive on combating market abuse. UK secured its negotiating objectives to deliver an effects-based regime with appropriate safeguards for innocent behaviour. Once the European Parliament has completed its first reading of the directive, the Council should be able to agree a formal common position.
	ECOFIN also agreed a general orientation on the amended collateral directive, which is designed to ensure legal certainty for cross-border and domestic collateral arrangements. This is another step forward in the completion of a single market in financial services.
	A general orientation was established on a compromise text for a draft regulation on accounting standards, which provides for the adoption of international accounting standards throughout the EU. The agreement is subject to a final Memorandum of Understanding between the European Commission and the International Accounting Standards Committee Federation on the subject of copyright.
	The Commission presented an interim version of their Globalisation and Development Report. The final report will be published in February 2002.
	On VAT on e-commerce, a text was agreed providing for the adoption of an electronic portal solution with a time-limited interim arrangement. This meets the UK's objective of introducing a non-burdensome method of applying VAT to products downloaded from the internet, which will be non-discriminatory and apply at the place of consumption.
	On the proposed directive for ensuring effective taxation of savings income, ECOFIN reconfirmed the agreement reached at the Feira European Council in June 2000, and agreed a text to form the basis for negotiations with third countries.
	ECOFIN also discussed the proposed energy products directive. The Chancellor stressed that any directive must allow the UK to exempt domestic fuel from minimum duty rates. The presidency reported the discussion to the European Council at Laeken.
	No votes were taken at the meeting.

Tax Simplification

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his plans for tax simplification.

Andrew Smith: The Government are committed to making tax law clearer and easier to use for taxpayers and their advisers. Through the work of the Tax Law Rewrite project they plan to rewrite direct tax legislation with a better structure and in simpler language. This will be achieved through a series of Bills and the first Bill covering the capital allowances code has already been enacted. The next Bill will rewrite the provisions for the taxation of employment income and pension income and taxable social security income to produce clearer and more accessible legislation.
	The Government keep the whole tax system under review, acting where possible to change tax rules to remove complexity in line with its objective of a modern and fair tax system.

National Lottery

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the main expected effects on the public accounts from 200102 to 200405 of the National Lottery, including the effects on (a) Government expenditure, (b) Government revenue and (c) Government borrowing.

Andrew Smith: Forecasts of expenditure by the National Lottery distributing bodies are given in table B13 of the 2001 pre-Budget report. Forecasts of receipts to the National Lottery distribution fund are included within the Other taxes and royalties line in table B11 of the pre-Budget report but are not separately identified. If, as anticipated, outstanding balances held by the Distribution Fund fall, this will produce a small increase in public sector net borrowing.

Cigarette Sales (Children)

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax revenues raised in each of the last five years from the illegal sale of cigarettes to children.

Andrew Smith: No such estimate has been made.

Tax Relief (Removal Expenses)

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of employees 
	(1)  for whom tax relief for removal expenses and benefits was claimed in each year since 1997;
	(2)  for whom removal expenses and benefits exceeded (a) 6,000, (b) 8,000, (c) 10,000, (d) 12,000, (e) 14,000, (f) 16,000, (g) 18,000 and (h) 20,0000 in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will estimate the yield to the Exchequer of limiting tax relief for removal expenses and benefits to (i) 6,000, (ii) 8,000, (iii) 10,000, (iv) 12,000, (v) 14,000, (vi) 16,000, (vii) 18,000 and (viii) 20,000 in 200102.

Andrew Smith: Tax relief for the first 8,000 of reimbursed relocation expenses provided by employers is tentatively estimated to cost around 300 million each year. Around 125,000 employees benefit from it. A breakdown of employees who start a new job and those who move to a different location with the same employer is not available.
	Available information suggests that in total around 10,000 employees pay income tax on the excess over 8,000 of qualifying relocation expense payments, or have the income tax paid by their employer amounting to some 30 million.